Cities around the country are planning a Tax March on Saturday, demanding transparency from President Trump.
Organizers of the Tax March, in honor of Tax Day coming up on April 18, hope the nearly 150 scheduled protests will encourage the president to release his tax returns.
“We’re marching on Washington, D.C., and around the country to ask Donald Trump: WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?” the organizers say on their website. “We need a president who works for all Americans, and a tax system that does, too. Release your tax returns and commit to a fair tax system for the American people.”
Cities participating include Washington, D.C.; New York; Boston; and San Francisco. Activists in West Palm Beach, Florida, plan on congregating near the resort where Trump is spending the holiday weekend. Law Professor Jennifer Taub began the efforts with a tweet back in December:
Time for Trump to #DivestDonald and show us your taxes https://t.co/P8TZbXMoI5
— Jennifer Taub (@jentaub) December 4, 2016
“I’m just a law professor who sent out a tweet,” Taub told the New York Times. “I’m psyched, and I think lots of people are psyched about this. We shall see.”
Many have picked up the hashtag that stands for the social movement, #Showusyourtaxes, on Twitter. Taub was inspired following her participation in the women’s march in Boston the day after Trump’s inauguration, and her interest in finance.
“I’m all about ‘follow the money,’” Taub said. “It tells us the story about people’s priorities.”
Liberals have helped organizing efforts for the march.
“There will be a lot of activism about doing the right thing for our country, telling the truth, holding the president to a standard that every president and every nominee of a party has been held to,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
The only other president to withhold his tax returns entirely up until Trump was Gerald Ford. Trump’s secrecy makes critics wary of conflicts of interest.
At a Republican primary debate last year, Trump said he won’t release any returns while they’re under audit.
The IRS has strict rules for auditing presidential tax returns: They are automatically audited each year.
“At the very least, even if [Trump] continues to hide behind the phony excuse of being under audit, he should release tax returns for 2016 as those are not under audit,” said Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) during a debate in the House of Representatives last month.
The Tax March on Saturday hopes to accomplish just what Crowley desires. For more information, or to participate, visit the march website.
H/T the Associated Press