House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal formally requested President Trump’s personal and business tax returns on Wednesday, setting up what will likely become a protracted and high-profile legal battle between the administration and Congressional Democrats.
In a letter sent to the IRS, Neal requested Trump’s personal income taxes from 2013 to 2018, as well as the tax returns associated with eight of his business entities, and cited his oversight role to justify the request.
“Under the Internal Revenue Manual, individual income tax returns of a President are subject to mandatory examination, but this practice is IRS policy and not codified in the Federal tax laws,” Neal wrote in the letter, which was first obtained by CNN. “It is necessary for the committee to determine the scope of any such examination and whether it includes a review of underlying business activities required to be reported on the individual income tax return.”
Though Congressional Democrats have been clamoring for Trump’s business and personal tax returns since reclaiming a majority in the House in January, Neal downplayed the political implications of his request in a Wednesday statement.
“My preparations were made on my own track and timeline, entirely independent of other activities in Congress and the administration,” Neal said. “My actions reflect an abiding reverence for our democracy and our institutions, and are in no way based on emotion of the moment or partisanship. I trust that in this spirit, the IRS will comply with federal law and furnish me with the requested documents in a timely manner.”
The IRS has until April 10 to comply with the request, at which point they may be forced to turn over the documents under the threat of Democrats’ newfound subpoena power.