General Discussion

MichMan

(12,060 posts)

50. Not very familiar with this law, so maybe someone can clarify

Sat Apr 6, 2019, 03:23 PM

Apr 2019

Last edited Sat Apr 6, 2019, 04:04 PM - Edit history (1)

From my understanding this law allowing the House Ways & Means to request the tax returns of any American has been in place 95 years. How often has it ever been used in all that time?

Point #1 states it is clear that Congress has a right to request tax returns of any citizen. I have seen previous posts where people say there is no ambiguity because it states "shall"

My main question is regarding point #2. Does the law actually state that requests for information must be in furtherance of legislative purpose ? Who decides if they are or are not based on what criteria? It appears that these are somewhat contradictory to me.

So does congress need to supply a valid reason for asking for them or don't they?

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My wife is one of the nation's top tax Lawyers... [View all] brooklynite Apr 2019 OP

I consider impeachment a legislative purpose! ananda Apr 2019 #1

+1 treestar Apr 2019 #5

This. Joe941 Apr 2019 #52

+1 uponit7771 Apr 2019 #64

We are about to see if safeinOhio Apr 2019 #2

Exactly. It's a moment of monumental importance. Eyeball_Kid Apr 2019 #19

You are 100% right. pangaia Apr 2019 #39

All Americans must remember when voting: Republicans are OK with that. n/t Beartracks Apr 2019 #51

Yes, all true. It appears that the Ways and Means Chair has crossed t's and dotted i's on this. hlthe2b Apr 2019 #3

Why would she do that? brooklynite Apr 2019 #11

You didn't provide any context for the discussion, so that's why I asked. hlthe2b Apr 2019 #13

She's not that kind of tax lawyer... brooklynite Apr 2019 #18

Good info, thanks! FakeNoose Apr 2019 #4

does oversight count as a legislative purpose? eShirl Apr 2019 #6

It would certainly if the purpose was to investigate the IRS. hughee99 Apr 2019 #20

My thought exactly. How could it not be? KPN Apr 2019 #21

Probably, but the emolument clause is most applicable. plimsoll Apr 2019 #36

But is says the IRS SHALL ....shall furnish....doesn't that kinda change things? It's not shall UniteFightBack Apr 2019 #7

That is how I read it and I how understand the legal meaning. LiberalFighter Apr 2019 #43

Could the "Secretary" be held in contempt of Congress if he does not obey the will of the Congress? kentuck Apr 2019 #58

Last night, someone on Rachel's show said it was to verify IRS is properly handling Pres returns. TheBlackAdder Apr 2019 #8

Question: did Neal err in sending the request to the IRS rather than Mnuchin onenote Apr 2019 #9

Pushing it up the chain... Historic NY Apr 2019 #17

All federal law says "the Secretary". That KPN Apr 2019 #23

... NurseJackie Apr 2019 #10

Should the "l" in "lawyer" be capitalized? lapucelle Apr 2019 #22

lol ... or is it LOL? KPN Apr 2019 #24

Next thing you know, people will be capitalizing the "d" in "donor". lapucelle Apr 2019 #25

Oh, I certainly hope not. That would be just TOO pretentious! NurseJackie Apr 2019 #29

... lapucelle Apr 2019 #32

I wonder if the "Lawyer" knows she is being written about here. Tipperary Apr 2019 #40

"Too pretentious?" Challenge accepted! LanternWaste Apr 2019 #63

We are amused! NurseJackie Apr 2019 #65

This message was self-deleted by its author A HERETIC I AM Apr 2019 #49

Huh? What's that about? MineralMan Apr 2019 #30

Doesn't the Congress also have oversight responsibility? karynnj Apr 2019 #12

They could investigate legally required divestiture. dchill Apr 2019 #14

Kind of like firing the FBI Director Raven123 Apr 2019 #15

Protecting our national security... kentuck Apr 2019 #16

Fixed it! MyOwnPeace Apr 2019 #27

I Would Say Uncovering Self-Dealing by the President is a Critical Legislative Purpose dlk Apr 2019 #26

We all realize mgardener Apr 2019 #28

Why didn't they do that? kentuck Apr 2019 #31

Probably because the KGB has blackmail photos on all of them jmowreader Apr 2019 #37

the GOP does not follow... stillcool Apr 2019 #47

By then it was too late. LiberalFighter Apr 2019 #45

It all depends on how they define a "legislative" purpose. DFW Apr 2019 #33

So,we have a double standard at play. Wellstone ruled Apr 2019 #34

Regardless of the law - trump will never stop resisting. empedocles Apr 2019 #35

Democrats in Congress need to understand... kentuck Apr 2019 #38

It's a long shot, IMO AlexSFCA Apr 2019 #41

Courts are not going to look at the Congress's motive for requesting his taxes. Should the court Pepsidog Apr 2019 #42

Congress was given this power due to Warren Harding and the Teapot Dome Scandal. octoberlib Apr 2019 #44

This is a complete joke! RANDYWILDMAN Apr 2019 #46

Well, "every candidate" technically speaking, but Romney's barely counts JHB Apr 2019 #48

The people who voted for Trump Mariana Apr 2019 #57

Not very familiar with this law, so maybe someone can clarify MichMan Apr 2019 #50

It will be used by a future right wing Congress at140 Apr 2019 #56

I heard on the radio yesterday that Rockefeller and Ford dsc Apr 2019 #60

I wished it said SHALL release within 2 weeks! bluestarone Apr 2019 #53

Has Congress submitted a legislative purpose? Kablooie Apr 2019 #54

Trump is never going to make his taxes public at140 Apr 2019 #55

My neighbor two doors down and across the alley is a skip and trip attorney. He told me that... Hassin Bin Sober Apr 2019 #59

My wife is a giant lion robot made of 5 assembled mini lion robots. Act_of_Reparation Apr 2019 #61

On a related subject NewJeffCT Apr 2019 #62

My wife's mother is a hamster and her father smelt of elderberries and she said ... Voltaire2 Apr 2019 #66