Legislation introduced in the state Senate would require presidential candidates to make public five years of tax returns in order to gain a spot on the Michigan ballot.
The bill, authored by Democratic Sen. Steve Bieda of Warren, makes Michigan the 10th state where new rules requiring the disclosure of tax returns are tied to ballot access.
The Bieda bill would require general election presidential candidates, along with their vice-presidential running mates, to submit their five most recent years of federal and state income tax returns to the Michigan Secretary of State, who would then make these tax returns publicly available online.
Bieda
“The citizens of Michigan and the American people deserve to know what potential conflicts of interest a presidential candidate and their running mate have, and these potential conflicts can be made clear by turning this federal precedent into state law. The office of the president is not a private business, it is an office of public service,” Bieda said.
After President Trump declined to release his tax information in the 2016 campaign, state legislation mandating such disclosure has surfaced in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, Maryland, Maine, New Mexico and Hawaii.
While most of those states are strongly Democratic, Michigan, as a key battleground state, could lead the way in forcing future candidates to disclose the taxes and finances they report to the IRS.
If only a few key states pass such legislation, that would essentially force all candidates to release their tax information, including President Trump when he presumably will seek re-election in 2020.
However, the new ballot access rules would almost certainly face a court challenge.
The release of tax returns began in earnest during the Nixon presidency and became a tradition starting in 1980. Trump is the first to ignore the precedent.
Portions of Trump’s 1995 tax return, which were leaked to the New York Times, suggested that the president avoided paying federal income taxes for as long as 18 years.
Trump has interests in 500 companies in about 20 countries, according to a disclosure document released in May.
The Michigan Senate bill would require candidates to submit tax forms 60 days prior to Election Day. The Secretary of State would post the post the returns online 30 days prior to the general election.
