Hoylman Bill to Provide New York State Tax Returns to Requesting Congressional Committees Passes State Senate Budget & Revenue Committee, Moves Step Closer to Enactment

ALBANY, NY - Senator Brad Hoylman’s (D/WF-Manhattan) TRUST Act (S.5072/A7194) to authorize the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to share tax return information with a requesting Congressional committee passed through the Senate Budget and Revenue Committee today.

Senator Hoylman said: “The New York State Legislature has a special role and responsibility to assist Congress in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities. We can do this by passing the TRUST Act and creating a mechanism for the State Tax Department to cooperate with congressional committees requesting New York State tax returns. I hope we can bring this bill to the Senate floor for a vote as soon as possible.

I’m grateful to Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Budget and Revenue Committee chair Senator Brian Benjamin for their support of this important issue which will help Congress do its job for the American people.”

Senator Brian Benjamin, Chair of the Revenue and Budget Committee said: “If the federal government isn’t prepared to deliver the transparency and accountability the American people deserve, New York will. Senator Hoylman’s bill is about good government, plain and simple, and I’m proud to have passed it through the Revenue and Budget Committee this morning.”

House Ways & Means Chair Richard Neal formally requested President Trump’s federal tax returns earlier this month, setting an initial deadline of April 10. The White House also failed to comply with the second request, set for April 23.

Federal law gives three Congressional tax committees the power to obtain, inspect, and disclose the otherwise confidential federal tax information of any taxpayer from the U.S. Department of Treasury.  Under New York State tax law, sharing state tax return information is prohibited, except under certain delineated circumstances. Senator Hoylman’s new bill, which he carries with Assemblymember David Buchwald, would create a new exception to this rule and authorize the sharing of state tax returns with a requesting Congressional committee when the request is made in the furtherance of a legitimate legislative purpose.

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