Trump downplays House Democrat's request for tax returns, says he's under audit

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

President Donald Trump took a jab at House Democrats on Wednesday after a committee chairman asked the IRS for six years of the president's tax returns.

"Is that all?" Trump told a reporter at the White House after the news broke.

"That's all," the reporter said.

"Oh, usually it's 10, so I guess they're giving up," Trump said.

>> Watch the clip here

According to Cox Media Group Washington correspondent Jamie Dupree, a letter submitted Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, the Democratic chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, requests Trump's personal tax returns, as well as those for a revocable trust in his name and several Trump businesses.

>> Jamie Dupree: Democrats ask IRS for Trump's personal, business tax returns

"Consistent with its authority, the Committee is considering legislative proposals and conducting oversight related to our Federal tax laws, including, but not limited to, the extent to which the IRS audits and enforces the Federal tax laws against a President," wrote the congressman from Massachusetts. "Under the Internal Revenue Manual, individual income tax returns of a President are subject to mandatory examination, but this practice is IRS policy and not codified in the Federal tax laws. It is necessary for the Committee to determine the scope of any such examination and whether it includes a review of underlying business activities required to be reported on the individual income tax return."

>> Read the letter here

Dupree reported that Neal said the "request is about policy, not politics."

"We have completed the necessary groundwork for a request of this magnitude, and I am certain we are within our legitimate legislative, legal, and oversight rights," he said.

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Trump said he isn't "inclined" to hand over his tax documents, claiming he is being audited.

"We're working that out, as I'm always under audit, it seems," he told reporters Wednesday. "But I've been under audit for many years because the numbers are big, and I guess when you have a name, you're audited. But until such time that I'm not under audit, I would not be inclined to do that."

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