US House Committee Votes Not to Request Trump's Tax Returns From Treasury

Republicans voted against requesting copies of Donald Trump's tax returns from the Treasury.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The House Ways and Means Committee has voted against requesting copies of US President Donald Trump's tax returns from the Treasury Department, Democrats on the committee said in a statement on Tuesday.

By a vote of 23-15, Republicans just voted to not request President Trump's tax returns from the Treasury Department.

— Ways and Means Dems (@WaysMeansCmte) 14 февраля 2017 г.

The committee has the authority to ask the Treasury Department for Trump's tax records, but on Monday its chairman Kevin Brady said taking such an action would misrepresent the "legislative intent" of the provision that gives him that authority.

US media reported that in 2014 the committee publicly released taxpayer information under that authority as part of its investigation into the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) scrutiny of tea party groups.

Donald Trump was the first presidential nominee from either major US political party in nearly 40 years to refuse to release his tax returns during the campaign. This triggered speculation on numerous tax breaks and loopholes for rich individuals and big businesses that could have allowed him to almost avoid paying federal taxes.

However, Trump has repeatedly stated he had provided more than 100 pages of required financial and tax information when registering for the 2016 presidential race.