Donald Trump loses battle over tax returns

The US Supreme Court has rejected Donald Trump’s last-ditch attempt to block the release of his tax returns.

Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida. Picture: AFP

The US Supreme Court has rejected Donald Trump’s last-ditch attempt to block the release of his tax returns to a congressional committee, after a three-year legal battle by the former president to shield his financial records from public view.

The order by America’s highest court finally clears the way for the Treasury Department to hand over six years of tax returns for Mr Trump and some of his businesses to the Democratic-controlled House ways and means committee, which has been seeking the documents since 2019.

Mr Trump, who announced last week that he was running for president again in 2024, has fought to keep the files secret, appealing to the Supreme Court last month after a lower court declined to reverse its ruling ordering the release of the documents to congress.

Last month, the court refused to intervene in the legal battle over classified government documents seized by the FBI in a search of his Florida home in August.

In January, it declined to block the National Archives from turning over documents to the House committee investigating the January riot last year, when Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol.

Democrats have called for Mr Trump to release his tax returns since the 2016 presidential election. Although not required by law, it has become customary for presidents of both parties to disclose their full financial information.

Mr Trump was the first president to break with this tradition and has fought to keep details of his personal wealth and business affairs secret.

Reports suggested that Mr Trump paid little or no tax in some years, applied for massive tax refunds and inflated his wealth. Former Trump associates claimed his business had secured loans from foreign countries, including Russia.

Mr Trump faces a civil investigation for alleged fraud in New York, while a criminal trial over alleged tax fraud at the Trump Organisation is in progress.

The Supreme Court’s ruling comes with just weeks left of Democratic control of the House of Representatives.

The Times