State Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan, confirmed Tuesday that the state Senate has enough votes to ensure passage of a bill allowing the commissioner of the New York Department of Taxation and Finance to release any state tax return requested by a leader of one of three congressional committees for any “specific and legitimate legislative purpose.”
A tax return from New York — where the president has the headquarters of his business empire and a home in Trump Tower — could contain much of the same financial information as a federal return, which Trump has steadfastly refused to release. On Monday, the Treasury Department denied a request from House Democrats for six years of the president’s federal returns, setting up a likely court battle that could reach the Supreme Court.
“The news of yesterday makes New York’s role even more crucial,” Hoylman said. He has described his bill as “assisting Congress in its oversight role.”
The White House had no immediate response to the New York bill.
The passage of the New York bill could expose state lawmakers to accusations of partisanship: the state Legislature is controlled by Democrats, and its executive branch is overseen by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat and a frequent critic of Trump. Cuomo said last month that he would support the Senate’s efforts.
The Senate’s passage does not assure the bill’s success; the state Assembly has been slower to publicly embrace the legislation, though lawmakers there seemed likely to pass it as well, given the dominance of Democrats in the lower chamber.
“Our members understand the issue,” Mike Whyland, a spokesman for the Assembly, said Monday, adding they intend to discuss it “in the near future.”
New York state law generally prohibits private tax information from being released, but Hoylman’s bill would loosen those restrictions to allow any one of three congressional committees to ask for such information: the House Ways and Means Committee; the Senate Finance Committee; and the Joint Committee on Taxation.
It would cover a broad range of filings, including corporation taxes, real estate transfer taxes and personal income taxes, a potentially illuminating trove of information about Trump, a billionaire who has cited ongoing audits as a reason for not releasing his taxes.
Hoylman denied it was a partisan act.
“What’s at stake here is the prerogative of legislative oversight,” he said. “And the desire of New Yorkers and the American people to seek the truth behind Trump’s taxes.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.