'No-brainer' or no-no? Congress split on probing Trump tax returnsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats on Friday said the U.S. Congress should obtain President Donald Trump’s tax records to examine possible conflicts of interest, although Republicans showed little interest in taking action. “This is a no-brainer, for crying out loud,” said Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell, a House Ways and Means Committee Democrat who asked the panel this month to request Trump’s federal tax returns from the U.S. Treasury. The Ways and Means Committee is one of three panels with the authority to subpoena tax returns. Defying decades of precedent, Trump has refused to release his tax returns. This has made it harder for watchdogs to determine how his actions as president may affect his sprawling business empire, including his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Trump is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this weekend. Critics say disclosing tax returns would help settle concerns about possible conflicts of interest. While Democrats say tax committees in Congress should exercise their authority to request Trump’s federal tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service, Republicans who control Congress have shown little interest in doing so. “I don’t think we can roll all over people just because they’re in a position of government,” said Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican who chairs both the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation, the two other panels with the authority to request tax records. The three committees do not need permission from Congress as a whole to review tax records behind closed doors, according to tax experts and congressional aides. However, they face a higher barrier if they want to make that information public. “There has to be a legitimate purpose for that disclosure. It has to be in the public interest,” said George Yin, a former Joint Committee on Taxation chief of staff who now teaches at the University of Virginia. Republicans have asked for an ethics review of one senior White House adviser’s promotion of Ivanka Trump’s products. Democrats say persistent concerns about Trump’s continued ownership of an international web of companies could eventually prompt lawmakers to take action. Pascrell said Trump’s tax returns will come up for debate as Congress moves to overhaul the U.S. tax code. “We certainly don’t want tax reform to benefit any particular group, including the president of the United States,” Pascrell told Reuters. “I ain’t going away.” politicsNews
congress split probing trump tax returnswashington reuters congressional democrats friday said congress obtain president donald trump tax records examine possible conflicts interest although republicans showed little interest taking action this crying loud said democratic representative bill pascrell house ways means committee democrat asked panel month request trump federal tax returns treasury the ways means committee one three panels authority subpoena tax returns defying decades precedent trump refused release tax returns this made harder watchdog determine actions president may affect sprawling business empire including resort florida trump hosting japanese prime minister shine abe weekend critics say disclosing tax returns would help settle concerns possible conflicts interest while democrats say tax committees congress exercise authority request trump federal tax returns internal revenue service republicans control congress shown little interest i think roll people position government said senator train hatch utah republican chairs senate finance committee joint committee taxation two panels authority request tax records the three committees need permission congress whole review tax records behind closed doors according tax experts congressional aides however face higher barrier want make information public there legitimate purpose disclosure it public interest said george yin former joint committee taxation chief staff teaches university virginia republicans asked ethics review one senior white house adviser promotion lanka trump products democrats say persistent concerns trump continued ownership international web companies could eventually prompt lawmakers take action pascrell said trump tax returns come debate congress moves overhaul tax code we certainly want tax reform benefit particular group including president united states pascrell told reuters i going politicsnews
Your task is to classify the provided input as real or fake news. Label 0 is meant for fake news, Label 1 is for real news. TEXT: 'No-brainer' or no-no? Congress split on probing Trump tax returnsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats on Friday said the U.S. Congress should obtain President Donald Trump’s tax records to examine possible conflicts of interest, although Republicans showed little interest in taking action. “This is a no-brainer, for crying out loud,” said Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell, a House Ways and Means Committee Democrat who asked the panel this month to request Trump’s federal tax returns from the U.S. Treasury. The Ways and Means Committee is one of three panels with the authority to subpoena tax returns. Defying decades of precedent, Trump has refused to release his tax returns. This has made it harder for watchdogs to determine how his actions as president may affect his sprawling business empire, including his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Trump is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this weekend. Critics say disclosing tax returns would help settle concerns about possible conflicts of interest. While Democrats say tax committees in Congress should exercise their authority to request Trump’s federal tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service, Republicans who control Congress have shown little interest in doing so. “I don’t think we can roll all over people just because they’re in a position of government,” said Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican who chairs both the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation, the two other panels with the authority to request tax records. The three committees do not need permission from Congress as a whole to review tax records behind closed doors, according to tax experts and congressional aides. However, they face a higher barrier if they want to make that information public. “There has to be a legitimate purpose for that disclosure. It has to be in the public interest,” said George Yin, a former Joint Committee on Taxation chief of staff who now teaches at the University of Virginia. Republicans have asked for an ethics review of one senior White House adviser’s promotion of Ivanka Trump’s products. Democrats say persistent concerns about Trump’s continued ownership of an international web of companies could eventually prompt lawmakers to take action. Pascrell said Trump’s tax returns will come up for debate as Congress moves to overhaul the U.S. tax code. “We certainly don’t want tax reform to benefit any particular group, including the president of the United States,” Pascrell told Reuters. “I ain’t going away.” politicsNews
Your task is to classify the provided input as real or fake news. Label 0 is meant for fake news, Label 1 is for real news. TEXT: congress split probing trump tax returnswashington reuters congressional democrats friday said congress obtain president donald trump tax records examine possible conflicts interest although republicans showed little interest taking action this crying loud said democratic representative bill pascrell house ways means committee democrat asked panel month request trump federal tax returns treasury the ways means committee one three panels authority subpoena tax returns defying decades precedent trump refused release tax returns this made harder watchdog determine actions president may affect sprawling business empire including resort florida trump hosting japanese prime minister shine abe weekend critics say disclosing tax returns would help settle concerns possible conflicts interest while democrats say tax committees congress exercise authority request trump federal tax returns internal revenue service republicans control congress shown little interest i think roll people position government said senator train hatch utah republican chairs senate finance committee joint committee taxation two panels authority request tax records the three committees need permission congress whole review tax records behind closed doors according tax experts congressional aides however face higher barrier want make information public there legitimate purpose disclosure it public interest said george yin former joint committee taxation chief staff teaches university virginia republicans asked ethics review one senior white house adviser promotion lanka trump products democrats say persistent concerns trump continued ownership international web companies could eventually prompt lawmakers take action pascrell said trump tax returns come debate congress moves overhaul tax code we certainly want tax reform benefit particular group including president united states pascrell told reuters i going politicsnews