Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, released the following statement after voting in favor of publicly releasing former President Trump’s tax return information to the House of Representatives:
Rep. Higgins said, “Congress has a duty, established under the Constitution, to provide oversight, a responsibility important to preserving the balance of power. For nearly 80 years United States presidents have made their tax returns public, providing the transparency that our democracy demands. Americans are accountable to the government through their own tax filings and deserve the same accountability from their nation’s leader in return. As Chairman Neal has stated, this is about the presidency, not about a President.”
The House Ways and Means Committee has the responsibility to oversee the Internal Revenue Service, including the mandatory presidential audit program used to review tax returns of presidents and vice presidents. United States Code Section 6103 provides authority for tax return information to be released to congressional tax committees upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. On April 3, 2019, Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal made a written request for then-President Trump’s tax returns to ensure the audit program was operating correctly. Following multiple attempts by Trump and his attorneys to withhold and refuse, multiple courts agreed with the Committee’s legal authority to receive the tax returns. During a meeting of the Ways and Means Committee on December 20, 2022, the Committee voted to release the tax information to the House of Representatives.
