We Haven't Seen Trump's Taxes Yet, but It's Clear the IRS Failed America

IRS Chief Makes More Than $100,000 Per Year Off Trump Property, Documents Show

The commissioner of the IRS—who is responsible for releasing President Trump's tax returns to Congress—owns two rental properties at the Trump International Waikiki that he profits off of while in office, according to new documents obtained by a watchdog group in Washington, raising new questions about his withholding of Trump’s tax returns as the president goes to court to keep them hidden.

Commissioner Charles Rettig’s personal financial disclosures for the past two years, analyzed by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, show that the IRS commissioner earns $100,000-200,000 per year from his properties at the Trump-branded Hawaii resort, which he purchased in 2006 before the hotel officially opened.

The Trump Waikiki website notes that the hotel was not developed by the Trump Organization—the owner licenses the Trump brand name—but Hawaii News Now reported in 2016 that the now-president received 10% of all pre-sales of units at the property, and Trump has made a promotional visit to the hotel while in office.

Rettig, who failed to disclose his connection to the Trump property when first appointed, told House lawmakers in 2019 that it was ultimately his decision—under the supervision of Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin—whether or not to turn over Trump’s federal tax returns to Congress, as House Democrats have requested.

Rettig denied the request for Trump’s tax documents in May 2019, with Mnuchin telling lawmakers that their subpoena for the president’s tax returns “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.”

House Democrats’ legal challenge to obtain Trump’s tax returns was sent back to a lower court by the Supreme Court, and is unlikely to be decided before the November election.

“The IRS Commissioner has a vested interest in the success of the Trump brand—and of preventing anything that could damage it,” CREW [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington] said in a post revealing the Rettig documents, speculating that it could be “toxic” for the value of Rettig’s property “if a bombshell in [Trump’s] tax returns were released.”