If Trump's entire tax portfolio was delivered to you in total, you would need to hire a tax consultant to dumb it down for you..... Goober !

You plebeian Goobers should concern yourselves with matters other than rich folks taxes.

The spring bloom is awesome.

You should shake the dust off of your worthless carcass and take a look at the splendor of Texas.

Hiway 290 between Brenham and Austin is exploding in wild flowers and bluebonnets.

And what are you doing ?

Crying about a rich man's taxes.

Get a life..................... Goober.

November, 2018

Steve Rosenthal, Forbes. (I research and write on tax for the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.)

Incoming House Ways & Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) indicated that he will request President Trump’s tax returns soon after Democrats formally take control of the House in January. Trump already has said he will try to block their release. In this matter, Neal is right. He not only has the authority to see the president’s tax returns, such a step is appropriate and necessary, as part of our checks and balances. The Constitution calls upon the House, along with the Senate, both to enact legislation and to oversee whether those laws are faithfully executed. To fulfill its oversight responsibility, I believe the House should demand the President’s tax returns.

The House effectively delegates its oversight responsibilities to its committees which can issue subpoenas for documents or testimony from the executive branch. In the matter of tax returns, the law could not be more clear (see Code sec. 6103(f)): Upon written request by either the Chairman of either the House Ways and Means Committee or the Senate Finance Committee, the Treasury Secretary “shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request.” The Ways and Means Committee may share these tax returns and related information with the full House, assuming there is a legitimate purpose for doing so.

Congress gave itself the right to review any return or return information in 1924, in the aftermath of two controversies. One was the Teapot Dome scandal, where senior officials in the Harding Administration granted public oil field leases in exchange for bribes. The other involved allegations that Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon continued to own many business interests while serving in government. Some believed the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the precursor to the IRS, showed favoritism to the secretary and his businesses.

The parallels to President Trump are striking. Trump maintains a sprawling business empire, which he refuses to t***sfer to a blind trust. According to multiple published reports, the president, through his businesses, derives income from foreign governments and their lobbyists, which also may violate the Constitution’s prohibition against emoluments. The president reportedly intervened personally to block the FBI from moving its headquarters and thus opening up for commercial development a site just a few blocks from his downtown Washington hotel. The president reportedly paid little or no tax for many years, in part because of aggressive tax planning and, perhaps, tax evasion. And throughout his campaign and since his e******n, the President acknowledged that he has been under audit.

These multiple allegations raise legitimate questions about whether the president is running the government for his benefit or the public’s—or both. Is he profiting from his position? Is the public harmed? Is the IRS auditing the president’s returns appropriately—and without favoritism? Has the IRS proposed any adjustments—and has the president paid them?

To fulfill its oversight responsibility, Congress, through the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, should demand the president’s personal and business tax returns that were open for audit at the time he assumed office and the 2017 returns filed since his e******n. Neal also should request any audit records for these returns, the work papers of any audit, and any written determinations.

For nearly the past half-century, such congressional demands for p**********l tax returns have been unnecessary. In 1974, President Nixon voluntarily released his tax returns to quiet the public clamor over his reportedly low taxes. He also invited the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation to audit his tax returns after the IRS reportedly gave him a pass (and JCT determined he owed an additional $476,431 in back taxes and interest). In the years since, every President until Donald Trump voluntarily released his returns to the public and permitted them to be automatically audited by the IRS automatically audited by the IRS. As Nixon famously explained: “People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook.”

Nixon was right.

November, 2018

Steve Rosenthal, Forbes. (I research and write on tax for the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.)

Incoming House Ways & Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) indicated that he will request President Trump’s tax returns soon after Democrats formally take control of the House in January. Trump already has said he will try to block their release. In this matter, Neal is right. He not only has the authority to see the president’s tax returns, such a step is appropriate and necessary, as part of our checks and balances. The Constitution calls upon the House, along with the Senate, both to enact legislation and to oversee whether those laws are faithfully executed. To fulfill its oversight responsibility, I believe the House should demand the President’s tax returns.

The House effectively delegates its oversight responsibilities to its committees which can issue subpoenas for documents or testimony from the executive branch. In the matter of tax returns, the law could not be more clear (see Code sec. 6103(f)): Upon written request by either the Chairman of either the House Ways and Means Committee or the Senate Finance Committee, the Treasury Secretary “shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request.” The Ways and Means Committee may share these tax returns and related information with the full House, assuming there is a legitimate purpose for doing so.

Congress gave itself the right to review any return or return information in 1924, in the aftermath of two controversies. One was the Teapot Dome scandal, where senior officials in the Harding Administration granted public oil field leases in exchange for bribes. The other involved allegations that Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon continued to own many business interests while serving in government. Some believed the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the precursor to the IRS, showed favoritism to the secretary and his businesses.

The parallels to President Trump are striking. Trump maintains a sprawling business empire, which he refuses to t***sfer to a blind trust. According to multiple published reports, the president, through his businesses, derives income from foreign governments and their lobbyists, which also may violate the Constitution’s prohibition against emoluments. The president reportedly intervened personally to block the FBI from moving its headquarters and thus opening up for commercial development a site just a few blocks from his downtown Washington hotel. The president reportedly paid little or no tax for many years, in part because of aggressive tax planning and, perhaps, tax evasion. And throughout his campaign and since his e******n, the President acknowledged that he has been under audit.

These multiple allegations raise legitimate questions about whether the president is running the government for his benefit or the public’s—or both. Is he profiting from his position? Is the public harmed? Is the IRS auditing the president’s returns appropriately—and without favoritism? Has the IRS proposed any adjustments—and has the president paid them?

To fulfill its oversight responsibility, Congress, through the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, should demand the president’s personal and business tax returns that were open for audit at the time he assumed office and the 2017 returns filed since his e******n. Neal also should request any audit records for these returns, the work papers of any audit, and any written determinations.

For nearly the past half-century, such congressional demands for p**********l tax returns have been unnecessary. In 1974, President Nixon voluntarily released his tax returns to quiet the public clamor over his reportedly low taxes. He also invited the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation to audit his tax returns after the IRS reportedly gave him a pass (and JCT determined he owed an additional $476,431 in back taxes and interest). In the years since, every President until Donald Trump voluntarily released his returns to the public and permitted them to be automatically audited by the IRS automatically audited by the IRS. As Nixon famously explained: “People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook.”

Nixon was right.

November, 2018

Steve Rosenthal, Forbes. (I research and write on tax for the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.)

Incoming House Ways & Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) indicated that he will request President Trump’s tax returns soon after Democrats formally take control of the House in January. Trump already has said he will try to block their release. In this matter, Neal is right. He not only has the authority to see the president’s tax returns, such a step is appropriate and necessary, as part of our checks and balances. The Constitution calls upon the House, along with the Senate, both to enact legislation and to oversee whether those laws are faithfully executed. To fulfill its oversight responsibility, I believe the House should demand the President’s tax returns.

The House effectively delegates its oversight responsibilities to its committees which can issue subpoenas for documents or testimony from the executive branch. In the matter of tax returns, the law could not be more clear (see Code sec. 6103(f)): Upon written request by either the Chairman of either the House Ways and Means Committee or the Senate Finance Committee, the Treasury Secretary “shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request.” The Ways and Means Committee may share these tax returns and related information with the full House, assuming there is a legitimate purpose for doing so.

Congress gave itself the right to review any return or return information in 1924, in the aftermath of two controversies. One was the Teapot Dome scandal, where senior officials in the Harding Administration granted public oil field leases in exchange for bribes. The other involved allegations that Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon continued to own many business interests while serving in government. Some believed the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the precursor to the IRS, showed favoritism to the secretary and his businesses.

The parallels to President Trump are striking. Trump maintains a sprawling business empire, which he refuses to t***sfer to a blind trust. According to multiple published reports, the president, through his businesses, derives income from foreign governments and their lobbyists, which also may violate the Constitution’s prohibition against emoluments. The president reportedly intervened personally to block the FBI from moving its headquarters and thus opening up for commercial development a site just a few blocks from his downtown Washington hotel. The president reportedly paid little or no tax for many years, in part because of aggressive tax planning and, perhaps, tax evasion. And throughout his campaign and since his e******n, the President acknowledged that he has been under audit.

These multiple allegations raise legitimate questions about whether the president is running the government for his benefit or the public’s—or both. Is he profiting from his position? Is the public harmed? Is the IRS auditing the president’s returns appropriately—and without favoritism? Has the IRS proposed any adjustments—and has the president paid them?

To fulfill its oversight responsibility, Congress, through the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, should demand the president’s personal and business tax returns that were open for audit at the time he assumed office and the 2017 returns filed since his e******n. Neal also should request any audit records for these returns, the work papers of any audit, and any written determinations.

For nearly the past half-century, such congressional demands for p**********l tax returns have been unnecessary. In 1974, President Nixon voluntarily released his tax returns to quiet the public clamor over his reportedly low taxes. He also invited the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation to audit his tax returns after the IRS reportedly gave him a pass (and JCT determined he owed an additional $476,431 in back taxes and interest). In the years since, every President until Donald Trump voluntarily released his returns to the public and permitted them to be automatically audited by the IRS automatically audited by the IRS. As Nixon famously explained: “People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook.”

Nixon was right.

Consider this, Lon... Trump is a billionaire businessman who has the best accountants in the world working for him. He has been audited repeatedly. Don't you think they would have found something by now? This is just re-opening the witch hunt on a different matter. I wonder how well Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters or Barbara Boxer would fair should they be subjected to the same sort of financial colonoscopy they want the president to undergo?
With more evidence appearing that the whole Russian collusion fiasco was based on fraud, perjury and falsified documents, how would you blame anyone for refusing to volunteer anything?

Clearly, IMO, the fact remains that the law allows the US Congress to review, in this case, President Trump's returns/records. It is not a stretch to believe that, if the roles were reversed, a democratic president would just as quickly and thoroughly be investigated by a GOP majority. That has shown, repeatedly in the past, to be true. Though sadly, and once again, it does often appear to boil down to partisan politics.

But, the OPP is an open forum for debate and/or discussion. That is primarily what I seek.

Clearly, IMO, the fact remains that the law allows the US Congress to review, in this case, President Trump's returns/records. It is not a stretch to believe that, if the roles were reversed, a democratic president would just as quickly and thoroughly be investigated by a GOP majority. That has shown, repeatedly in the past, to be true. Though sadly, it does often appear to boil down to partisan politics.

But, the OPP is an open forum for debate and/or discussion. That is primarily what I seek.

November, 2018

Steve Rosenthal, Forbes. (I research and write on tax for the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.)

Incoming House Ways & Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) indicated that he will request President Trump’s tax returns soon after Democrats formally take control of the House in January. Trump already has said he will try to block their release. In this matter, Neal is right. He not only has the authority to see the president’s tax returns, such a step is appropriate and necessary, as part of our checks and balances. The Constitution calls upon the House, along with the Senate, both to enact legislation and to oversee whether those laws are faithfully executed. To fulfill its oversight responsibility, I believe the House should demand the President’s tax returns.

The House effectively delegates its oversight responsibilities to its committees which can issue subpoenas for documents or testimony from the executive branch. In the matter of tax returns, the law could not be more clear (see Code sec. 6103(f)): Upon written request by either the Chairman of either the House Ways and Means Committee or the Senate Finance Committee, the Treasury Secretary “shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request.” The Ways and Means Committee may share these tax returns and related information with the full House, assuming there is a legitimate purpose for doing so.

Congress gave itself the right to review any return or return information in 1924, in the aftermath of two controversies. One was the Teapot Dome scandal, where senior officials in the Harding Administration granted public oil field leases in exchange for bribes. The other involved allegations that Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon continued to own many business interests while serving in government. Some believed the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the precursor to the IRS, showed favoritism to the secretary and his businesses.

The parallels to President Trump are striking. Trump maintains a sprawling business empire, which he refuses to t***sfer to a blind trust. According to multiple published reports, the president, through his businesses, derives income from foreign governments and their lobbyists, which also may violate the Constitution’s prohibition against emoluments. The president reportedly intervened personally to block the FBI from moving its headquarters and thus opening up for commercial development a site just a few blocks from his downtown Washington hotel. The president reportedly paid little or no tax for many years, in part because of aggressive tax planning and, perhaps, tax evasion. And throughout his campaign and since his e******n, the President acknowledged that he has been under audit.

These multiple allegations raise legitimate questions about whether the president is running the government for his benefit or the public’s—or both. Is he profiting from his position? Is the public harmed? Is the IRS auditing the president’s returns appropriately—and without favoritism? Has the IRS proposed any adjustments—and has the president paid them?

To fulfill its oversight responsibility, Congress, through the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, should demand the president’s personal and business tax returns that were open for audit at the time he assumed office and the 2017 returns filed since his e******n. Neal also should request any audit records for these returns, the work papers of any audit, and any written determinations.

For nearly the past half-century, such congressional demands for p**********l tax returns have been unnecessary. In 1974, President Nixon voluntarily released his tax returns to quiet the public clamor over his reportedly low taxes. He also invited the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation to audit his tax returns after the IRS reportedly gave him a pass (and JCT determined he owed an additional $476,431 in back taxes and interest). In the years since, every President until Donald Trump voluntarily released his returns to the public and permitted them to be automatically audited by the IRS automatically audited by the IRS. As Nixon famously explained: “People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook.”

Nixon was right.

November, 2018

Steve Rosenthal, Forbes. (I research and write on tax for the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.)

Incoming House Ways & Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) indicated that he will request President Trump’s tax returns soon after Democrats formally take control of the House in January. Trump already has said he will try to block their release. In this matter, Neal is right. He not only has the authority to see the president’s tax returns, such a step is appropriate and necessary, as part of our checks and balances. The Constitution calls upon the House, along with the Senate, both to enact legislation and to oversee whether those laws are faithfully executed. To fulfill its oversight responsibility, I believe the House should demand the President’s tax returns.

The House effectively delegates its oversight responsibilities to its committees which can issue subpoenas for documents or testimony from the executive branch. In the matter of tax returns, the law could not be more clear (see Code sec. 6103(f)): Upon written request by either the Chairman of either the House Ways and Means Committee or the Senate Finance Committee, the Treasury Secretary “shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request.” The Ways and Means Committee may share these tax returns and related information with the full House, assuming there is a legitimate purpose for doing so.

Congress gave itself the right to review any return or return information in 1924, in the aftermath of two controversies. One was the Teapot Dome scandal, where senior officials in the Harding Administration granted public oil field leases in exchange for bribes. The other involved allegations that Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon continued to own many business interests while serving in government. Some believed the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the precursor to the IRS, showed favoritism to the secretary and his businesses.

The parallels to President Trump are striking. Trump maintains a sprawling business empire, which he refuses to t***sfer to a blind trust. According to multiple published reports, the president, through his businesses, derives income from foreign governments and their lobbyists, which also may violate the Constitution’s prohibition against emoluments. The president reportedly intervened personally to block the FBI from moving its headquarters and thus opening up for commercial development a site just a few blocks from his downtown Washington hotel. The president reportedly paid little or no tax for many years, in part because of aggressive tax planning and, perhaps, tax evasion. And throughout his campaign and since his e******n, the President acknowledged that he has been under audit.

These multiple allegations raise legitimate questions about whether the president is running the government for his benefit or the public’s—or both. Is he profiting from his position? Is the public harmed? Is the IRS auditing the president’s returns appropriately—and without favoritism? Has the IRS proposed any adjustments—and has the president paid them?

To fulfill its oversight responsibility, Congress, through the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, should demand the president’s personal and business tax returns that were open for audit at the time he assumed office and the 2017 returns filed since his e******n. Neal also should request any audit records for these returns, the work papers of any audit, and any written determinations.

For nearly the past half-century, such congressional demands for p**********l tax returns have been unnecessary. In 1974, President Nixon voluntarily released his tax returns to quiet the public clamor over his reportedly low taxes. He also invited the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation to audit his tax returns after the IRS reportedly gave him a pass (and JCT determined he owed an additional $476,431 in back taxes and interest). In the years since, every President until Donald Trump voluntarily released his returns to the public and permitted them to be automatically audited by the IRS automatically audited by the IRS. As Nixon famously explained: “People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook.”

Nixon was right.