The old adage of “strike while the iron is hot” is especially applicable to politics. Something that might be politically impossible at one moment may succeed when circumstances change if advocates for that something move fast enough. It’s why, for instance, dozens of otherwise obscure Democratic politicians are suddenly fancying...
Newsom Signs Tax-Returns Law Aimed at Trump
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Tuesday requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns to appear on the state's primary ballot, a move aimed squarely at Republican President Donald Trump. Even if the law withstands a likely legal challenge, Trump could avoid the requirements by choosing not...
Walters: Trump and California at It Again
President Donald Trump and the Democrats who dominate California politics are locked into a rather bizarre, symbiotic relationship. Almost daily, they fire political and legal bullets at each other across 2,728 miles – by highway – of American soil, each knowing that no matter how strange the missives may appear...
Top House Democrat’s Subpeonas Demand Trump Tax Returns
WASHINGTON — A top House Democrat on Friday issued subpoenas for six years of President Donald Trump's tax returns, giving Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig a deadline of next Friday to deliver them. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., issued the subpoenas days after...
Trump Acknowledges Over $1 Billion in Tax Write Offs, Calls It ‘Sport’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday acknowledged taking massive tax write offs for real estate losses topping $1 billion from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, calling it "sport" among developers like himself during that period. Trump was reacting to a New York Times report Tuesday that his businesses lost more...
Refusal to Hand Over Trump’s Tax Returns Sets up Legal Fight
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has made it official: The administration won't be turning President Donald Trump's tax returns over to the Democratic-controlled House. Mnuchin told Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., in a Monday letter that the panel's request "lacks a legitimate legislative purpose" as Supreme Court precedent...
California Renews Bid to Get Presidential Candidates’ Taxes
SACRAMENTO — The California Legislature is trying again to force presidential candidates to publicly disclose their tax returns, hoping a new Democratic governor known for his clashes with President Donald Trump won't block them this time. The state Senate voted 27-10 on Thursday to require anyone appearing on the state's...
House Democrats Ask IRS to Provide Trump’s Tax Returns
WASHINGTON — A House committee chairman formally asked the IRS to provide six years of President Donald Trump's personal tax returns and the returns for some of his businesses as Democrats try to shed light on his complex financial dealings and potential conflicts of interest. The request by Massachusetts Rep....
Walters: Will the One-Percenters Flee California's High Taxes?
Reality – a new reality – is hitting home as Californians work on their 2018 federal income tax returns. Some are seeing smaller federal tax bites and bigger refunds, thanks to a more generous standard deduction in the tax overhaul that a Republican Congress and President Donald Trump enacted in...
IRS Recalling 46,000 Workers to Handle Taxes
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is recalling about 46,000 of its employees furloughed by the government shutdown — nearly 60 percent of its workforce — to handle tax returns and pay out refunds. The employees won't be paid. With the official start of the tax filing season coming Jan....