California governor signs bill requiring Trump to release tax returns

LOS ANGELES - California's Democratic governor signed a law on Tuesday requiring U.S. presidential candidates to release five years of tax returns before they can appear on the state's ballot, a move aimed squarely at President Donald Trump.

The law, which passed both houses of the Democrat-controlled state legislature earlier this month, marks the latest effort by Democrats to expose still-murky details of Trump's financial empire.

"These are extraordinary times and states have a legal and moral duty to do everything in their power to ensure leaders seeking the highest offices meet minimal standards, and to restore public confidence," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement announcing the bill signing.

Representatives for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the measure, which was expected to face legal challenges.

Newsom's predecessor as California governor, Jerry Brown, in 2017 vetoed similar legislation passed by state lawmakers on the grounds that it might run counter to the U.S. Constitution and set a precedent for requiring presidential candidates to disclose personal information.

Despite suggesting during his successful 2016 run for the presidency that he would release his tax returns once an audit was complete, Trump has refused to make them public.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has rejected requests by the U.S. House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee to the Internal Revenue Service to turn over six years of Trump's returns.

The committee sued Mnuchin and the Treasury Department last week to appeal Mnuchin’s decision.

Earlier this month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, also a Democrat, signed an amendment to a state law requiring the Department of Taxation and Finance to release any returns sought by the appropriate congressional committees.

Last week Trump sued New York over the legislation, saying it was enacted to retaliate against the president because of his "policy positions, his political beliefs, and his protected speech, including the positions he took during the 2016 campaign." (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; editing by Bill Tarrant and Tom Brown)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Bernie Sanders releases 10 years of tax returns, details millionaire status

WASHINGTON - U.S. Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders released 10 years of tax returns on Monday, providing details of his growing status as a millionaire fueled by a sharp jump in income from book royalties since his losing 2016 White House run.

Sanders, a U.S. senator who routinely rails against the "millionaires and billionaires" he says have rigged the system to protect their wealth and power, had an adjusted gross income of $561,293 in 2018, $1,131,925 in 2017 and $1,062,626 in 2016, the returns showed.

Sanders augmented his Senate salary with book royalties in each of those years, particularly in 2016 and 2017 when he made more than $800,000 each year in royalties. Sanders has published three books since the start of his first White House run, including bestsellers "Our Revolution" and "Where We Go From Here."

In 2009, the first year of returns Sanders released on Monday, he had an adjusted gross income of $314,742.

Sanders had faced mounting pressure to release his taxes, with critics saying the democratic socialist's millionaire status undercut his populist economic message. He made no apologies for his financial well-being, telling the New York Times recently that "if you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too."

On Monday, Sanders took a more measured tone in releasing his returns, making reference to his upbringing in a Brooklyn family of limited financial resources.

"These tax returns show that our family has been fortunate. I am very grateful for that, as I grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck and I know the stress of economic insecurity," Sanders said in a statement accompanying the returns.

'TRANSPARENCY'

The interest in presidential contenders and their taxes has jumped since Republican President Donald Trump shattered decades of tradition during the 2016 campaign by refusing to release his returns - a stance he has continued since entering the White House.

Several in the growing field of Democratic 2020 contenders, including Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, and Governor Jay Inslee of Washington, have released their 2018 returns in recent weeks. Most other Democratic contenders have pledged to do the same soon.

But the question had become more pressing for Sanders, who only released one year of returns during his 2016 campaign, as he moved into a strong early position in polls and fundraising among Democrats seeking the 2020 nomination to challenge Trump.

"As a strong proponent of transparency, the senator hopes President Trump and all Democratic primary candidates will disclose their tax returns," Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir said in a statement.

Sanders faced criticism for only releasing his 2014 returns during his 2016 Democratic primary battle with Hillary Clinton, a millionaire whom he often derided for giving paid speeches to Wall Street.

The tax returns released on Monday showed Sanders paid a 26 percent effective tax rate on his adjusted gross income in 2018. His effective tax rates in 2016 and 2017, his other high-earning years, were 35 percent and 30 percent, respectively.

As part of his policy agenda, Sanders has proposed a big expansion of the estate tax, lowering the threshold where it kicks in to $3.5 million from $11 million, and placing a 77 percent tax rate on the portion of estates worth more than $1 billion. (Reporting by John Whitesides; Editing by Peter Cooney)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

US billionaire Buffett challenges Trump to reveal tax returns

WASHINGTON - US billionaire Warren Buffett challenged Donald Trump Monday to release his tax returns, a feat which the Republican presidential candidate has so far resisted.

Trump has said he won't release the documents because he is under audit, which Buffett -- one of the world's richest men -- suggested is a weak excuse.

"Now I've got news for him, I'm under audit too," Buffett said, speaking at a Hillary Clinton rally in Nebraska. "You're only afraid if you got something to be afraid about."

"He's afraid because of you," Buffett told the attendees.

Buffett suggested he and Trump meet "any place, any time" before election day to publicly go over their tax records together.

The business magnate also sharply criticized Trump for a recent dispute with the parents of a slain Muslim American soldier.

Pakistani immigrant Khizr Khan galvanized the Democratic National Convention with a tribute to his dead son in which he rebuked the Republican nominee for having "sacrificed nothing" for the country.

In an interview aired on ABC Sunday, Trump insisted he had, in fact, made "a lot of sacrifices" for the United States.

Buffett declared otherwise: "Donald Trump and I haven't sacrificed anything," he said, referencing Trump's remark.

"How in the world can you stand up to a couple of parents who have lost a son and talk about sacrificing because you were building a bunch of buildings?"

Buffett is one of several extremely wealthy Americans to back Clinton for president, including billionaire and independent former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com