Transparency about a President's or presidential candidate's taxes has long been a hallmark of American democracy, with every President since Republican Richard Nixon in the 1970s making their tax returns public.
Until recently, of course, when former Republican President Donald Trump refused to do so. But with the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden, the tradition has returned and with it some epic shade toward Biden's secretive predecessor.
While releasing Biden's 2020 tax returns, the White House included a nod to Trump that has many on the internet cheering.
From the White House: "Today, the President released his 2020 federal income tax return, continuing an almost uninterrupted tradition."— Josh Dawsey (@Josh Dawsey) 1621286770
The statement read, in part:
"Today, the President released his 2020 federal income tax return, continuing an almost uninterrupted tradition."
Those two little words, "almost" and "uninterrupted," had several on the internet digitally high-fiving the new administration, as they were interpreted as a swipe at Trump.
The practice of releasing tax returns began in 1972 with President Nixon after media reporting uncovered he had taken several questionable reductions and had paid less than $1000 in taxes in two consecutive years, despite having earned upwards of $200,000—well over $1 million in today's currency.
If that sounds familiar, it may be because of a bombshell New York Times investigation last year which found Trump paid just $750 in both 2016 and 2017, despite claiming to be a billionaire.
Trump refused to release his tax returns throughout his candidacy and presidency, repeatedly claiming he couldn't do so because his returns were being audited. But since 1977—in response to Nixon's later misdealings, in fact—all presidential tax returns have been audited as a matter of course. It has never previously prevented the release of a presidential tax return.
When White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about this issue by the press, she assured them all of Biden's future taxes would be released too, regardless of audits or any other circumstances.
Jen Psaki is asked about Biden still releasing his tax returns even if he is audited, which all presidential returns are audited as policy. Psaki said, " I expect we will continue to release the president's tax returns, as should be expected of all presidents."pic.twitter.com/hGFmFoR8WU— Sarah Reese Jones (@Sarah Reese Jones) 1621269557
And she, too, seemed to take a light dig at the former President in her remarks:
"I expect we will continue to release the President's tax returns, as should be expected of all Presidents."
On Twitter, many people were loving it.
There. \n\nNow, was that so hard?https://twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1394403898916474881\u00a0\u2026— Jon Cryer (@Jon Cryer) 1621345897
"almost" https://twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1394403898916474881\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/4nttSLGuIK— Mark Hamill (@Mark Hamill) 1621332339
AMAZING! You mean they weren't under "audit"?— Teri Felts (@Teri Felts) 1621287191
\u201cAlmost.\u201dhttps://twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1394403898916474881\u00a0\u2026— Joe Walsh (@Joe Walsh) 1621287094
Yeah, because he\u2019s not a money-laundering kompromized mobster for Putie.— Anita (@Anita) 1621292848
Remember when trump released his, just kidding.https://twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1394403898916474881\u00a0\u2026— Molly Jong-Fast (@Molly Jong-Fast) 1621294521
https://twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1394403898916474881\u00a0\u2026— David Solimini (@David Solimini) 1621286807
tasty shadehttps://twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1394403898916474881\u00a0\u2026— brian braiker (@brian braiker) 1621287714
This sentence did make me laugh out loud.https://twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1394403898916474881\u00a0\u2026— Daniel W. Drezner (@Daniel W. Drezner) 1621291846
That totally routine multi year audit will be complete any day now— ffiz (@ffiz) 1621287431
Whether you like or dislike the person in the White House, transparency is always a good thing.
