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by Causes | 10.2.19

UPDATE - October 2, 2019:

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a California law requiring presidential candidates to publicly disclose their tax returns to appear on the Golden State ballot.
U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr., who was appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush, issued an opinion saying the law likely violates the U.S. Constitution.
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, named as defendant in the lawsuits, had said that the law \"is constitutional and provides invaluable transparency for voters as they decide who will hold the most powerful office in the United States.\"
In his 24-page ruling, Morrison wrote California's concerns are “both legitimate and understandable\" and candidates have provided “unnecessary and irrelevant excuses for shielding the public from such information.”

“It is not the job of the courts, however, to decide whether a tax return disclosure requirement is good policy or makes political sense,” wrote Morrison. “Instead, it is the court’s job to make sure the Constitution wins.”

Countable's earlier updates appear below.

UPDATE - September 20, 2019:

A federal judge has issued a temporary block on a new California law that requires presidential candidates to publicly disclose their tax returns or forfeit appearing on the Golden State ballot.
President Donald Trump had sued the state last month to block implementation of the law.
U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. said there would be “irreparable harm without temporary relief” for Trump and other candidates from the law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, named as defendant in the lawsuits, said in a statement that he'd wait to see the written ruling before deciding whether to appeal.

“We remain firm in our belief that SB 27 is constitutional and provides invaluable transparency for voters as they decide who will hold the most powerful office in the United States.\"

State Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), the author of SB 27, tweeted:

Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow praised Thursday’s ruling.

“We are encouraged that the federal court tentatively concluded that a preliminary injunction should be granted. It remains our position that the law is unconstitutional because states are not permitted to add additional requirements for candidates for president, and that the law violates the Constitution.”

Countable's earlier updates appear below.

UPDATE - August 6, 2019:

President Donald Trump, his re-election campaign, and the GOP have sued California over a recently-passed law that that requires presidential candidates to publicly disclose their tax returns or forfeit appearing on the Golden State ballot.
The law is “a naked political attack against the sitting president of the United States”, local and national Republican parties argued in one of the two lawsuits.
The Trump campaign argued in its lawsuit that Democrats are “on a crusade to obtain the president’s federal tax returns in the hopes of finding something they can use to harm him politically.”
In response to the legal actions, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) tweeted:

“There’s an easy fix Mr President – release your returns as you promised during the campaign and follow the precedent of every president since 1973.\"

Countable's earlier updates appear below.

Update - July 30, 2019:

\nCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed a bill that requires presidential candidates to disclose income tax returns before they can appear on the state's primary ballot.\n
\"As one of the largest economies in the world and home to one in nine Americans eligible to vote, California has a special responsibility to require this information of presidential and gubernatorial candidates,\" Newsom said in a statement.

\"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. The disclosure required by this bill will shed light on conflicts of interest, self-dealing, or influence from domestic and foreign business interest.\"

S.B. 27, the \"Presidential Tax Transparency and Accountability Act,\" includes an “urgency clause\"—it will take effect immediately and force all candidates running for president in 2020 to disclose their financial statements.
All 10 Republicans in the state Senate had voted against the bill.

\"I get that playing the resistance card may be good politics for the majority party, but I would submit that it's bad policy for Californians,\" Sen. Brian Jones said.

Countable's original story appears below.

Update - May 6, 2019:

The California Senate has passed a bill that would force presidential candidates to publicly disclose five years' worth of tax returns or forfeit appearing on the Golden State ballot.
\"We believe that President Trump, if he truly doesn't have anything to hide, should step up and release his tax returns,\" said state Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat from Healdsburg and the co-author of the bill.
The legislation is nearly identical to a bill vetoed by former Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in 2017. Current Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn't indicated whether he'll sign or veto the new legislation.

Countable's original story appears below.

What’s the story?

The Illinois state Senate has advanced a bill that would require all future presidential candidates – including Donald Trump - to release five years of personal tax returns in order to appear on the state’s ballot.

What are people saying?

“This is, quite frankly, with all due respect to the sponsor, an embarrassing waste of the Senate’s time,” Republican state Sen. Dale Righter said.

Democratic Sen. Tony Munoz, who sponsored the bill, disagreed.

“If you want to run for vice president or president of the United States, hey, what’s wrong with providing your tax returns for the past five years?” Munoz said. “If you’ve got nothing to hide, you shouldn’t worry about anything.”

Trump has repeatedly refused to release his tax returns. House Democrats are currently in a fight with the IRS to obtain them.

What do you think?

Should presidential candidates have to release their tax returns to be on the ballot? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: Donald Trump via twitter)

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