Trump tax returns: US treasury secretary refuses to provide president's records to Congress

President is first since 1976 to not make full returns public

Donald Trump’s treasury secretary has said he will not provide Congress with the president’s tax returns, setting up what is likely to be a lengthy legal battle over the documents.

In the latest stand-off between the Trump administration and Democrats on Capitol Hill seeking to exert leverage, Steven Mnuchin revealed he was refusing the request as it lacked “a legitimate legislative purpose”.

Democrats have long sought to obtain a copy of the president’s tax returns, in the belief it would provide potentially damaging information about the way he has operated his finances and his businesses both before and after entering the White House.

There is no law saying presidents must do so, though most in recent history have made them public. While campaigning for the White House, Mr Trump said he would release them once the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had completed an audit he said was being carried out.

Commentators pointed out that tax returns could be made public even during an audit, and some have suggested the president simply enjoyed antagonising his opponents by declining to do so.

The latest request for details of the president’s returns had been made last month by congressman Richard Neal, the Democratic chairman of the way and means committee of the House of Representatives. He did so on the basis of a law that says the IRS “shall furnish” the returns of any taxpayer to a handful of senior legislators, among them the chair of that committee.

But in a letter made public on Tuesday, Mr Mnuchin made clear it did not intend to do so.

“Out of respect for the deadlines previously set by the committee, and consistent with our commitment to a prompt response, I am informing you now that the department may not lawfully fulfil the committee’s request,” he wrote.

He said the treasury department would work with Mr Neal “to provide information concerning the committee’s stated interest in how the IRS conducts mandatory examinations of presidents, as provided by the internal revenue manual”. “If the committee is interested, we remain committed to providing such an accommodation,” Mr Mnuchin said.

Mr Neal, who represents Massachusetts’ first congressional district, said in a statement: “I will consult with counsel and determine the appropriate response.”

The expectation now is that the issue will be further spun out by means of a legal tussle. Democrats could seek to subpoena the IRS for the president’s tax returns or to file a lawsuit.

Mr Neal has said his committee was looking into the effectiveness of IRS mandatory audits of tax returns of all sitting presidents, a way to justify his claim that the panel had a potential legislative purpose.

Democrats are confident in their legal justification and say the president is stalling in an attempt to punt the issue past the 2020 election.

Mr Trump has said he was elected by the American public without disclosing his returns. Last month, he doubled down on this claim that returns cannot be released while an audit is under way, something experts say is not true.

“There is no law, as you know, I got elected last time with the same issue and while I’m under audit, I won’t do it,” he told reporters. “If I’m not under audit, I would do it, I have no problem with it, but while I’m under audit, I would not give my taxes.

“I have no obligation to do that while I’m under audit. And no lawyer would tell you to release your tax returns while you’re under audit.”

Mr Trump is first major candidate since 1976 to not make any of his full returns public. President Gerald Ford released a tax summary that year, but not his full records.

Additional reporting by agencies