Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Chris Murphy are pushing for a vote on a bill designed to force presidential candidates to release their tax returns to the public after Congress returns from its August recess.
Wyden, who serves as the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced The Presidential Tax Transparency Act in May in response to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s decision not to publicly disclose the information until the Internal Revenue Service completed its audit.
“The legislation we’re talking about requires tax returns to be released 15 days after a candidate becomes their party’s official nominee – that point is far passed for Mr. Trump,” Wyden told reporters on a Thursday conference call. “If you want to occupy the most important office in America, in the world, you ought to go above and beyond.”
Under the legislation, the Federal Election Commission would have the authority to obtain the information from the Department of Treasury that aren’t provided voluntarily.
Murphy alleged Trump is using the campaign largely to increase his own net worth, and speculated the candidate may not want to publicize Russian investments.
“It stands to reason then that Trump could be looking for the presidency as the ultimate means to increase his wealth,” the Connecticut Democrat said on the call. “If Donald Trump had nothing to hide in his taxes, we would have seen them by now – and if he hasn’t been afraid to release his taxes in the past when it would have worked to his advantage in trying to obtain casino lease, he’d be glad to turn over his taxes.”
The Democrats argued it is unprecedented for candidate to withhold the documents.
“Since Watergate, every single Democrat, every single Republican has said this is something the American people have a right to have before they vote for the most important office in the world,” Wyden continued.
The push comes in the wake of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton attacking her opponent on the issue in her latest television ad campaign. While Trump has not yet released the information, his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has said he plans to release his returns in coming weeks.
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