united-states privacy tax-law congress
Congress and Trump&#39;s Tax Filings
<p>I am very interested in Congress subpoenaing the IRS for Trump's individual Tax Return for the last 6 years. </p>

<p>I realize they have oversight. But it would look to me as an one outside of the law profession, that they can ask the IRS for any type of report they want, along with the limits of what ever group they want, but to ask for a single individual return would fall outside of over sight.</p>

<p>Do you see the congress as being able to subpoena the IRS to provide any private individuals tax return as oversight? </p>

<p>It sure looks like weaponizing the IRS to me.</p>

<p>It just looks like the perfect way to eliminate any political adversary. </p>

<p>The law I am seeing that is in question is 6103(f)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>6103(f) Disclosure to Committees of Congress (1) Committee on Ways and
  Means, Committee on Finance, and Joint Committee on Taxation Upon
  written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means
  of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Committee on
  Finance of the Senate, or the chairman of the Joint Committee on
  Taxation, the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return
  or return information specified in such request, except that any
  return or return information which can be associated with, or
  otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer
  shall be furnished to such committee only when sitting in closed
  executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing
  to such disclosure.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Does it look normal to you that the Congress would request the Return of any single individual?</p>

<p>The law you cite says that </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request</p>
</blockquote>

<p>That includes specific individual returns. That it was intended to include such returns is made clear by the provisions restricting identifiable individual data to executive session. </p>

<p>Whether this <strong>ought</strong> to be the law might well be debated. Whether the House <strong>ought</strong> to use this law as a way to get at Trump's returns could also be debated. Those are matters of politics, or perhaps ethics, not law. </p>

<p>Whether some other provision of law overrides this provision in this case is pretty clearly going to be argued in court, and we will see what the decision is. I won't try to predict it here. </p>
