Sacramento, CA – As Tax Day approaches and residents across the nation file their returns, tens of thousands will also march in organized rallies throughout the country to call on President Trump to release his tax returns – just like every President has for the past 40 years.

Senators Mike McGuire and Scott Wiener are aiming to change that with legislation that will require basic tax information to be shared with the American public and require that all presidential candidates release the last 5 years of their tax returns in order to appear on the California ballot. SB 149 – the Presidential Tax Transparency & Accountability Act – was approved in the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month and will be heard in the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee Tuesday.

 “Transparency is a nonpartisan issue. And it’s transparency that provides the basis for accountability in Government,” said Senator Mike McGuire. “For the past forty years, every US President – Republicans and Democrats alike – have released their tax returns. These patriots put the nation’s interests above everything else. Presidents are expected to put their own interests aside – whether it be business ties or relationships with a foreign government – for the greater good of our country. And that greater good is America’s security and the protection of its people.”

Contrary to what President Trump has stated in public that Americans don’t care about his tax returns, tens of thousands of Americans are expected to show up this Saturday at Tax March rallies from San Francisco to Ukiah, LA to Chicago, Washington, D.C. and New York demanding President Trump release his returns. And, according to recent polls, 74 percent of respondents believe President Trump should release his tax returns. President Trump made promises on the campaign trail about releasing his personal returns, and that never happened.

“I’m proud to stand with Senator McGuire and all of the people turning out to protest in cities all across the country on Tax Day who are outraged that the President of the United States refuses to release his tax returns. The American people deserve transparency and accountability from the person they elect to serve as President of the United States. They deserve to know that their President is putting the interest of the American public first, not the interests of his personal business interests,” Senator Wiener said.

SB 149 will require a candidate for President, in order to have his or her name placed upon the primary election ballot, to file his or her income tax returns for the 5 most recent taxable years with the Secretary of State. The returns would also be made available to the public on the Secretary of State’s website.

Prior to Donald Trump’s refusal to release any tax returns, every president since Jimmy Carter (over 40 years) have released at least one year of tax returns. During the 2016 Presidential election, Hillary Clinton (Democratic) and Jill Stein (Green) both released their tax returns.

Clips of Senator McGuire discussing SB 149 can be found here. Clips of Senator Wiener discussing SB 149 can be found here.

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