Nearly four years after then-presidential candidate Donald Trump first faced questions about his income tax returns, the issue has returned to the forefront of the 2020 election as Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden prepare for their first debate Tuesday night. The New York Times Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden gives a speech on the Supreme Court at The Queen Theater, Sept. 27, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.Biden did not make any public comment about Trump’s taxes Sunday, but like Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, the former Vice President has challenged Trump to make his tax returns public.In July, Biden wrote, “The American people deserve to know what Donald Trump is hiding in his tax returns.”Biden, who served as vice president for eight years and has made his tax returns public, has on his campaign website copies of his state and federal returns from 2016, 2017 and 2018.FILE – U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement late Sunday saying the Times report shows the need for lawmakers to be allowed access to Trump’s taxes for an oversight audit, and highlighted a provision in a bill the House passed last year that would make presidential disclosures of their personal and business tax returns mandatory. The measure was referred to the Senate Finance Committee with no further action.Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican, said in response to the legislation last year that House Democrats were seeking Trump’s tax information for political purposes and should leave auditing responsibilities to the IRS.“What they are interested in is using their oversight authority to collect as much information about this President’s finances as they can get their hands on,” Grassley said.A list of debate topics released last week ahead of Tuesday’s presidential debate did not include any specific mention of the tax issue, but given its history in recent elections the Times reporting makes its inclusion in Tuesday’s event likely.
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