[RollCall] Rep. Ben Ray Luján ‐ like many in Congress ‐ wants President Donald Trump to release his tax returns.Transparency, the New Mexico Democrat said recently in a Facebook post, "is a cornerstone of democracy."
But he doesn't want to release his own tax returns. And that puts him in good company on both sides of the aisle.
Typical. One rule for thee and another for me!
Roll Call sent a request to all of the nation's senators and representatives ‐ more than 500 in all ‐ to release their tax returns. Only 37 responded, and of those, six provided the documents.
The written requests were sent at least three times over a period of several weeks, starting in April, to each lawmaker and key staff members.
Roll Call sought returns from the 2015 and 2016 tax years to accommodate members who have asked for extensions.
Roll Call reviewed public documents and media reports to determine lawmakers' positions on the release of Trump's tax returns. At least 237 lawmakers have called on the president to produce his returns.
The review, which can be viewed in full here, also sought to identify lawmakers who had released all or part of their own returns. It identified an additional 43 lawmakers in the House and the Senate who had released returns or allowed reporters to review them.
Another law that might be good for land (besides term limits) is to make it so if you run for or hold a public federal office, you MUST release your tax records every year. Would make for some very interesting reading on our socialist "Friends".