Most Americans really want the new Congress to get Trump’s tax returns

An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that Democrats should be allowed to get and release Trump’s tax returns when they take over the majority in the House.

Trump has kept his tax returns a secret, refusing to release them during his campaign in 2016 or since he’s taken office. He is the first nominee of either party in over 40 years to hide his taxes.

A new poll from Harvard CAPS/Harris suggests that Americans want Democrats to get to the bottom of the story.

The poll shows 63 percent of voters said Democrats should be allowed to use their powers in the majority to get Trump’s taxes and get the details to the American public.

Certain committees in the House and Senate have the power to request any individual’s tax returns from the Treasury secretary.

With Congress under Republican control, Trump’s allies refused to secure his returns and repeatedly blocked others’ attempts to get ahold of the records.

However, voters gave Democrats the power to make it happen with the last election, in part because Republicans have refused to do their jobs on this vital issue.

Now Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) will be the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the House panel designated to write tax laws, and he has gone on the record to say he will get the public the information it wants.

Neal told reporters, “We don’t have a timetable yet, but we’ve talked about it, and we are certainly intent on doing it.”

The committee is likely to face opposition from the Trump administration, particularly Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

But there are questions growing daily about whether Trump has been financially compromised, either through foreign governments like Saudi Arabia or Russia, or by private entities like those he paid hush money to.

Revealing his returns might let the public know where he stands and how his policy choices in the presidency have been affected.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.