Congress of the Gnited States RICHARD E. NEAL, MASSACHUSETTS, CHAIRMAN JOHN LEWIS, GEORGIA LLOYD DOGGETT, TEXAS MIKE THOMPSON, CALIFORNIA JOHN B. LARSON, CONNECTICUT EARL BLUMENAUER, OREGON RON KIND, WISCONSIN BILL PASCRELL JR., NEW JERSEY DANNY K. DAVIS, ILLINOIS LINDA T. SANCHEZ, CALIFORNIA BRIAN HIGGINS, NEW YORK TERRI A. SEWELL, ALABAMA SUZAN DELBENE, WASHINGTON JUDY CHU, CALIFORNIA GWEN MOORE, WISCONSIN DAN KILDEE, MICHIGAN BRENDAN BOYLE, PENNSYLVANIA DON BEYER, VIRGINIA DWIGHT EVANS, PENNSYLVANIA BRAD SCHNEIDER, ILLINOIS TOM SUOZZI, NEW YORK JIMMY PANETTA, CALIFORNIA STEPHANIE MURPHY,FLORIDA, JIMMY GOMEZ, CALIFORNIA STEVEN HORSFORD, NEVADA G.S. Bouse of Representatives BRANDON CASEY, MAJORITY STAFF DIRECTOR COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS 1102 LONGworTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING (202) 225-3625 Gashington, BC 20515-0348 http://waysandmeans.house.gov KEVIN BRADY, TEXAS, RANKING MEMBER DEVIN NUNES, CALIFORNIA VERN BUCHANAN, FLORIDA ADRIAN SMITH, NEBRASKA KENNY MARCHANT, TEXAS TOM REED, NEW YORK MIKE KELLY, PENNSYLVANIA, GEORGE HOLDING, NORTH CAROLINA JASON SMITH, MISSOURI TOM RICE, SOUTH CAROLINA DAVID SCHWEIKERT, ARIZONA JACKIE WALORSKI, INDIANA DARIN LAHOOD,ILLINOIS BRAD R. WENSTRUP, OHIO JODEY ARRINGTON, TEXAS DREW FERGUSON, GEORGIA RON ESTES, KANSAS GARY ANDRES, MINORITY STAFF DIRECTOR April 3, 2019 The Honorable Charles P. Rettig Commissioner Internal Revenue Service 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20224 Dear CommissionerRettig: The Committee on Ways and Means (“Committee”) has oversight andlegislative authority over our Federal tax laws. With this authority comes a responsibility to ensure that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is enforcing the lawsin a fair and impartial manner. Consistent with its authority, the Committee is considering legislative proposals and conducting oversight related to our Federal tax laws, including, but not limited to, the extent to which the IRS audits and enforces the Federal tax laws against a President. Underthe Internal Revenue Manual, individual income tax returns of a President are subject to, mandatory examination, butthis practice is IRS policy and not codified in the Federal tax laws. It is necessary for the Committee to determinethe scope of any such examination and whetherit includes a review of underlying businessactivities required to be reported on the individual incometaxreturn. Pursuant to my authority under Internal Revenue Codesection 6103(f), for each of the tax years 2013 through 2018, I request the following return and return information: 1. The Federal individual incometaxreturns of Donald J. Trump. 2. For each Federal individual incometax return requested above, a statementspecifying: (a) whether such return is or was ever under any type of examination or audit; (b) the length of such examination oraudit; (c) the applicable statute of limitations on such examination or audit; (d) the issue(s) under examination oraudit; (e) the reason(s) the return was selected for examination or audit; and (f) the present status of such examination or audit (to include the date and description of the most recent return or return information activity). 3. All administrative files (workpapers, affidavits, etc.) for each Federal individual incometax return requested above. Commissioner Rettig April 3, 2019 Page 2 4. The Federal incometax returns ofthe following entities: The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust; DJT Holdings LLC; DJT Holdings Managing Member LLC; DTTM Operations LLC; DTTM Operations Managing MemberCorp; LFB Acquisition Member Corp; e LFB Acquisition LLC; and Lamington Farm Club, LLC d/b/a Trump National Golf Club—Bedminster. 5. For each Federal incometax return of each entity listed above, a statementspecifying: (a) whether such return is or was ever underany type of examination or audit; (b) the length of such examination or audit; (c) the applicable statute of limitations on such examination or audit; (d) the issue(s) under examination or audit; (e) the reason(s) the return was selected for examination or audit; and (f) the present status of such examination or audit (to include the date and description of the most recent return or return informationactivity). 6. All administrative files (workpapers,affidavits, etc.) for each Federal incometax return of each entity listed above. 7. Ifno return wasfiled for the tax year requested, a statementthat the entity or individual did not file a return for such tax year. This documentis a record of the Committee and is entrusted to the IRS only for use in handling this matter. Additionally, any documents created by the IRS in connection with a response to this Committee document, including (but notlimited to) anyreplies to the Committee, are records of the Committee and shall be segregated from agency records and remain subject to the control of the Committee. Accordingly, the aforementioned documents are not “agency records” for purposes of the Freedom of Information Act. Absent explicit Committee authorization, access to this document and any responsive documents shall be limited to IRS personnel who need such access for the purpose of providing information orassistance to the Committee. Please provide the requested return and return information by April 10, 2019. Thank you for your promptattention to this matter. Sincerely, 5 ho TheHonorable Richard E. Neal, Chairman HOUSE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS CHAIRMAN RICHARD E. NEAL Frequently Asked Questions ChairmanNeal’s Section 6103 Request Purpose Whyis the Chairman making this request? The Committee on Ways and Meansis examining the extent to which the IRS audits and enforces the Federal tax laws against a President. Whyare the President’s tax returns necessaryfor that purpose? The Committee cannot consider whether legislative changes are necessary withoutfirst informingitself. The Committee therefore requires the President’s tax returns and any administrative files (workpapers, audit materials, examiner notes, correspondence, etc.) that reflect how the IRS audits and enforces the Federal tax laws against him. Doesn’t the IRS conduct a mandatory audit? Under the Internal Revenue Manual, a President’s individual incometax returns are subjectto mandatory examination; however, this practice is simply IRS policy, not law. The truth is that we do not know what the IRS is reviewing, whether the IRS review includes audits that were ongoing before he took office, or even if a mandatory examination actually is taking place. Wasthe Chairman waiting until after the Mueller report? Chairman Neal’s request has always been independent of the Special Counsel’s report. The Committee is concerned about the President’s compliance with the Federal tax laws. Is the President not entitled to privacy? The President of the United States is the most powerful public official in this country. No other single American has the powerto sign bills into law and direct an entire branch of government by him orherself. Prepared by Ways and Means, Democratic Staff April 3, 2019 Is the Chairman hopingto use the President’s tax returns for impeachment purposes? Chairman Neal wants to be clear. He stands with Speaker Pelosi that the request is not about impeachment. It is about legitimate legislative and oversight issues. The Chairman is not going to presuppose anything about what the Committee will find or where the Committee will go. Section 6103 Background Whatis section 6103? Amongother things, section 6103 of the Tax Code authorizes the disclosure of tax returns to the Committee on Ways and Means. Under section 6103(f), the Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Meansis authorized to request and receive tax returns. Whyis the Committee relying on this provision? The Committee has used this provision to request tax returns as part of its previous investigations. This provision is not “obscure,” as it has been deemed in some mediareports. Is this a subpoena? No. Chairman Nealis explicitly authorized to receive tax returns under section 6103(f). Whoelse has the authority to request returns? Undersection 6103(f), Senator Grassley, who is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee,is also authorized to request returns and return information. More broadly, however, section 6103 authorizes States and the Department of Justice, among others, to request returns and return information for specified reasons. Is Senator Grassley also going to request the President’s tax returns? Weare not aware of Senator Grassley’s plans. However, he recently stated that, if the “House of Representatives are going to get them, then I want the Senate Finance Committee to have them.” Whyis this letter addressed to Commissioner Rettig instead of Secretary Mnuchin? This Committee always has submitted section 6103 requests to the IRS, not Treasury. While it is true that the statutory text states that the Secretary of the Treasury shall furnish the returns, the Secretary has delegated authority to the IRS Commissioner over “the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws” since 1955. Prepared by Ways and Means, Democratic Staff April 3, 2019 Has the Treasury Secretary ever been involved in these kinds of decisions? Weare not aware of the Secretary ever having been involved in processing a section 6103 request. Indeed, at a recent hearing before the Committee, Secretary Mnuchinstated “That is not something I would normally sign. It would be something that the IRS Commissioner would sign off on.” Is the Chairmanallowed to obtain the returns of a public official under section 6103? Requesting tax returns of a public official is consistent with section 6103. Indeed, the Committee’s authority was added to the Tax Code, in part, to address Congressional difficulties in acquiring tax information from Administration officials. Has Congress ever examined the tax returns of a public official? President Nixon, President Ford, and Vice President Rockefeller all were subject to Congressional inquiry of their tax returns. Further, public officials nominated for a position requiring confirmation by the Senate Finance Committee are asked to provide three years of their tax returns as part of the confirmation process. Scope of the Request Whydid the Chairman request returnsfor six years? Chairman Neal’s decision to request six years of tax returns 1s based, in part, on the numberof tax years for which tax returns generally are available at the IRS and the length of time the IRS advises taxpayers to keep their records. Whyis the Chairman requesting tax returns for years before he was President? This would allow the Committee to inspect returns for the two years he was a Presidential candidate and the two prior years, as these returns reflect ongoing transactions. Why must the Committee request the President’s business returns? Many,if not most, of the President’s businesses are operated through separate entities that may report income, deductions, or other tax items included on his individual incometax returns. It is unknown whetherthe scope of any mandatory examination includes a review of underlying businessactivities required to be reported on the individual incometax return. Whydid the Chairman request returnsfor these entities? Chairman Neal has requested the returns for five entities that constitute the core of the President’s business empire. These entities control hundreds of other businessentities. The Chairman also requested the returns for three entities associated with one golf course that has been the subject of recent media reports about tax compliance. 3 Prepared by Ways and Means, Democratic Staff April 3, 2019 Next Steps Whatis the next step? Chairman Neal expects the IRS to comply with his request. The plain language of section 6103 is clear. No request by this Committee has ever been denied. Will the Chairmanask for additional returns in the future? Atthis time, Chairman Neal has no plansto ask for additional returns. Nothing in the law preempts Chairman Neal from making subsequent requests as needed. Will the Committee provide the press updateson thestatus of this request? No. Now that the Chairman has transmitted his request, he and the Committee will abide by the provisions set forth in section 6103 regarding the treatment of tax return information. Is the Chairman going to share the returns with other committees? No. This is not provided for under section 6103. Prepared by Ways and Means, Democratic Staff April 3, 2019