Trump will not be included on the ballot: California has put a tough condition on the president

The California Legislature is trying to force presidential candidates to publicly disclose their tax returns, a move that could prevent President Donald Trump from appearing on the state ballot if he does not release the documents.

Photo: twitter.com/realDonaldTrump

On Thursday, the State Senate voted to require that those appearing in the state’s primary ballot as presidential candidates publish their tax returns for five years, writes USA Today. This proposal was a response to the fact that Trump violated the 40-year tradition by refusing to show tax returns before his election in the 2016 year.

The California presidential primary is scheduled for March 3. If the bill becomes law and Trump does not file tax returns with the Secretary of State of California, the name of the current US president will not be included on the state's primary ballot (California is the most populous US state - ForumDaily note).

“We believe that President Trump, if he truly has nothing to hide, should release his tax returns,” said Sen. Mike McGuire, a Healdsburg Democrat and a co-sponsor of the bill along with Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat.

On the subject: Congress demands to publish Trump's tax returns

The Legislative Assembly passed an almost identical bill in 2017, but Governor Jerry Brown vetoed it, telling lawmakers that he was concerned about the “unconstitutionality” of the law. Brown himself, a Democrat, refused to publish his tax returns while he was in office.

He left his post in January. He was replaced by Gavin Newsom, who made public his declarations and assumed the role of the national leader of “resistance” to Trump and his policies.

Newsom's office did not say whether it will sign the new bill. If the document reaches its table, then “it will be evaluated on its merits,” said spokesman Brian Ferguson.

On the subject: How is the US tax system after the Trump reform?

McGuire said he had “initial discussions” with the Newsom administration about the proposal.

“I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I will say this: Governor Newsom set an example by releasing his tax returns,” McGuire said.

The bill will also affect more than a dozen candidates applying for Democratic presidential nomination. Many of them have already published tax returns. Among them, California Senator Kamala Harris and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who refused to publish their tax information in the 2016 year, but released this data in April 2019 year.

Candidates will be required to file tax returns with the state secretary’s office, which will work with them before publishing the declarations on the Internet.

The bill repeats similar projects being considered in Illinois, Washington and New Jersey.

In New York, the Democrats have already tried several approaches in the hope of getting Trump to make public his tax returns, including bills requiring officials to submit such information in order to appear on the ballot. Last month, lawmakers submitted a bill that would allow the state to publish Trump's tax returns if any of the three congressional committees requested these documents.

Trump is a New York State resident and does most of his business in this state.

Last month, Chairman of the House Committee of Representatives Richard Neal officially requested from the IRS the presidential tax declarations for 6 years, but it was not easy. The head of the finance department, Stephen Mnuchin, who also oversees the IRS, missed two terms set by Neil for the transfer of documents, and said he would wait for the justice department to determine the legality of the requirements, and only then make a decision. Mnuchin also accused the Democrats of trying to circumvent the law in order to obtain documents.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• Recall Democrats have long been trying to get official information about the taxes of the president. According to The New York Times, in October last year, Trump received from his father’s real estate company at least 413 million for assistance in avoiding taxation in the United States.
• Last year, a petition demanding the release of Trump's tax return scored more than 620 thousands of signatures. Note that every US presidential candidate has published its tax returns since 1976, but the law does not require this.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Congress and Trump will fight in court because of the financial transactions of the president and his children

Trump and Putin talked an hour on the phone: what did the presidents discuss?

'What's the problem?': Attorney General Barr answered questions from senators about the 'Russia case' in Mueller's report

Ukrainian Embassy in the United States confirmed that Democrats were collecting dirt on Trump in 2016

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.