It has been almost 1,400 days since the House Ways and Means Committee first asked for former President Donald Trump’s tax returns, but according to a judgement handed down by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, the committee will finally get its hands on them.
It was a correct interpretation of a law that was enacted in 1924 and stipulates that the Treasury Department must hand up any and all tax documents that are sought by specific congressional committees for the purposes of valid legislation. (During the Watergate scandal in 1973, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) handed over then-President Richard M. Nixon’s tax records to the Joint Committee on Taxation. However, there was a significant difference between this case and the previous one in that Nixon himself had requested that the committee review his records, famously proclaiming, “I am not a crook.”
Unfortunately, the decision of the court does not guarantee that Mr. Trump’s tax records will ever be made public, nor does it guarantee that future presidents or presidential candidates will not follow his example and refuse to voluntarily disclose their own tax returns. Both of these outcomes are possible.
It is crucial that the practice, which has been followed by practically every major-party nominee for president since Nixon and which requires presidential candidates to voluntarily reveal their tax returns in order to run for office, be reinstated. The candidates’ potential financial conflicts of interest should be disclosed to the electorate before they are chosen. And in the case of Mr. Trump, such documents were particularly pertinent due to the fact that he was the head of a huge and mysterious privately held firm. Along with his tax records, he ought to have supplied a comprehensive assessment of his holdings and interests. As Mr. Trump continued to exert pressure throughout 2017 to overhaul the tax system, his refusal to do so became increasingly obvious. The citizens of the United States could only speculate as to how the terms of the bill may personally benefit the president and his family.
It is possible that Congress will try to enforce new regulations if presidential candidates do not willingly reveal their tax returns. Legislators from the state could also do it. For example, in reaction to the controversy surrounding President Trump’s tax returns, legislators in New York established a bill in 2019 that authorizes state officials to provide congressional investigators with the tax information they have on file. After a candidate has secured the nomination of a major political party for president, state legislators could also pass laws that require the candidate’s state tax records to be made public automatically.
However, it ought not to be the case. It would be better for the country if candidates once again performed vital acts of honesty and transparency — not because they are required to, but because voters deserve it. This would make the country healthier overall.