Donald Trump has been trying for years to prevent his tax documents from being released - in the end without success. Does the ex-president have something to hide? There should be clarity on Friday.
The Democrats in the US Congress want to publish the partially blacked-out tax returns of former President Donald Trump on Friday. This was announced by the House Finance Committee. The filing is expected to cover the period from 2015 to 2021, which is the period of the Republican presidency and the campaign before that. Trump has not yet issued a statement.
The committee, which will be controlled by the Democrats until the end of the year, had announced the publication, but pointed out that parts of the documents would first have to be blacked out because they are confidential. The committee released its report on the filing last week and found that the IRS, contrary to regulations, failed to review Trump's statements for three of the four years of his presidency.
The businessman, who always prides himself on his financial successes, did not publish his tax documents himself during the presidential campaign, contrary to standard practice in the USA. He later refused to publish it, fueling suspicions that he had something to hide.
Among other things, the committee wants to examine whether there were any possible conflicts of interest or whether Trump made use of tax avoidance strategies. Trump had failed in the last instance before the Supreme Court in an attempt to prevent it from being handed over to the committee. In the new legislative period next year, this will be controlled by the Republicans, like the entire House of Representatives.
