A group of House Republicans joined Democrats on Thursday in voting for legislation that requires yearly audits of the incumbent president's tax returns, according to The Hill.
The decision of the five Republicans came two days after the House Ways & Means Committee revealed that the Internal Revenue Service did not examine former President Donald Trump's tax returns for his first two years in office.
"What drove me was, I remember his [Trump's] statement in 2016 when he said ... that if he were the nominee, he was going to release his taxes," said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., adding that "it's been six years" and the returns are still not public.
Upton was joined by Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, John Katko of New York, and Tom Rice of South Carolina in his decision. All five will not be returning to Congress next term, having either retired or lost their primary this year.
The move also comes amid other revelations from the House committee's report released Tuesday night, showing Trump paid $750 in net tax on his income in 2016 and 2017 and nothing in 2020.
Although this was due to him claiming a salary lower than $1,000 for those years, the committee flagged more than $1 million Trump claimed in foreign tax credits in 2018 and several charitable contributions ranging from $500,000 to $2 million.
"The Committee expected that these mandatory audits were being conducted promptly and in accordance with IRS policies," Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., said in a statement.
"However, our review found that under the prior administration, the program was dormant," he continued. "We know now, the first mandatory audit was opened two years into his presidency. On the same day this Committee requested his returns."
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