Reimagining Global Peace and One Humanity beyond the Lens of Human Consciousness

 In all ages wicked men tried to plot

Against God’s Way, but they never
Succeeded and were covered with shame
In ways unexpected. The righteous see good in God’s Word, and their goal is the Good
Great teachers were sent to all nations, to warn against Evil
And guide to the Right. The penalty for Evil comes in many unexpected
Ways, for Evil is against Nature.
And all Nature proclaims God’s Glory
And humbly serves Him, the Lord Supreme.
(The Qur’an: 16: 26-50- condensed message).

By Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

Towards Critical Thinking of Time for Change, Peace and Future-Making

Despite the presence of global institutions of peace and security, so-called conscientious leadership, hollow claims of ending the ten months long “senseless” war, Pope Francis calls an immediate end to hostilities and catastrophic losses of human lives and habitats, the conflict goes on unabated between Russia, Ukraine and the West. The wide ranging spill-over impacts of the war are noticeable all over human consciousness resorting to fear, hatred, deaths and massive destruction of human civilizations. Time and history no matter how you define it, are not on our side as we the so called intelligent beings could not learn from the consequences of our own wrong thinking. The failure of global leadership to see the overwhelming interest of global mankind for peace is a driving impulse for war economies, egoistic interests and militarization. We realize that politics is a game of pretension and always remains problematic. Leaders hosting conferences for action-reaction military maneuvers are treacherous, cynical and deceitful in their ideas and ideals and to the public interests they claim to serve. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Ignorance, indifference to human interests of sustenance, security and peaceful co-existence, and arrogance against the very mankind on whose existence the world enjoins all the attractions of lifelines, beauty and appreciation are at greater risk of extinction. But the 21st century leaders denied the inner eye of recognizing Time and the Nature of Things to mislead humanity and make war a new normal of unthinkable consequences.

Today’s news media reports that President Putin is ready to negotiate for peace in Ukraine. At times, President Zellensky (Ukraine) also wanted to talk peace with President Putin. President Endogen (Turkey) had offered his good offices to arrange a meeting of minds for a ceasefire and peace –making at Istanbul. One wonders, why are the other US-NATO’s leaders silent to initiate a formal dialogue between the warring parties? We, The People of global humanity must call for an immediate halt to all war machines and lingering suspicion of one-sided military triumph.

The impulse and actions for cruelty and sadistic behavior are increasingly sending alarming trends for the present and future generations to be informed of explicit wickedness and resulting failure in global affairs. As humans, we are not thinking or moving towards unity of mankind to be at peace and harmony being the chief creation of God. Unless, we are overwhelmed philosophically to imagine being animals rather than intelligent humans populating the Earth.

People not Spared by Ballistic Missiles even on the Xmas Eve

We, the People, are witnessing a planned scheme of things to exterminate humanity with superior weapons hitting targeted civilian towns and daily bloodbath as a new normal. Have we not learned any lessons from the European nationalistic wars of the First World War and the 2nd World War? We, the Humanity, continue to argue if wars have become part of the new normal – unknown and unthinkable to human civilizations and rational thinking. Across Ukraine, drones and ballistic missiles continued to hit targeted civilian habitats even on Xmas Eve. How morally conscientious societies and leaders display immoral thoughts and behaviour when it comes to perpetuated animosity.

Military successes achieved by ruthlessness and viciousness lead to degeneration of human societies. After ten months, the advanced war machines continued to bombard human habitats, killing and displacement of millions of innocent civilians and making millions to flee to foreign lands. NATO and the EU trying to bridge the gaps of perceptions and strategic plans by sending weapons and money to boost Ukraine’s capacity to face the superior Russian machines and plans. The perpetuated chaos and nationalistic ideals of the few are leading to collapsed civilizations and resumption of the dark ages. Could wars be ever the source of conflict resolution or peacemaking? No matter how time exists in a frozen intellect, Reason will haunt human thought if war is a prelude to peace-making. What are the so-called intelligent leaders of NATO, America or the EU waiting for? Is America, the EU and NATO waiting and watching how Russia and Ukraine will end up in this cruel insanity of war? Or what advanced weaponry is being used by Russia to annihilate its neighbour? Is Ukraine a test ground for any futuristic planning and administration of more insane conflicts? Surely, men who are universally hated and feared are active in this embittered insanity – a revulsion against reason and against a helpless nation and people. Why the Russian, NATO and the EU leaders cannot meet face to face for a dialogue to ceasefire and peace-making? Do the political Advisors and war strategists lack rational thinking and education for peace-making?

Reasoning for the Imperatives of Peace and Conflict Resolution

Leaders of vision and intellectual solidarity could make the peace happen out of planned ideas and ideals. Recall that societal peace and harmony represent excellence of credible leadership supported by the masses. President Putin, President Zellensky, President Biden, and NATO must realize the humane urgency to agree for an immediate ceasefire and try to resolve the issues through peaceful dialogue and certainly not by conquest of Ukraine. When noble ideals are misinterpreted, it could drain out all the good qualities of people and leaders. Political reasoning is a shared enterprise within the global systems of governance to which America, Russia and NATO and the EU failed to observe. The sanctity of peace and values of human life will encompass open-mindedness and readiness to listen and learn from each other's concerns and experience for peace, harmony and viable neighborly relationships. What if President Putin, President Biden and the EU leaders could meet in person and hold dialogue for peace-making and conflict resolution? The violent assumptions of NATO outreach to Eastern Europe and outrageous hypothesis of military confrontations will lead nowhere – certainly not to peace-making or conflict resolution. Who could gain in these mindless and extravagant ideas of power and military warfare – Certainly None?

America, Europe and NATO’s historic record is plagued with violence and extravagant ideas to have invaded and killed millions and millions across the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. Lacking rationality of a just war, they have killed and displaced millions of people in Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria. Their claims of piety and credibility for the good are full of lingering suspicion and discard to be the office bearers of peace and security of the world. The need is urgent to foster a peaceful dialogue between Russia, Ukraine, America and NATO or else lack of rational imagination and action could destroy the national freedom and sovereignty of Ukraine.

While the leaders speak of freedom, sovereignty, peace and justice, they hardly comprehend the truth of its meaning. The unchallenging TRUTH arising from the emerging conflicts and leadership failure call for New Thinking and New People of ideas and ideals to reject the violent assumptions of militarization and egoistic triumphs by acts of genocidal plans. We the People of globe ask the global conscientious leaders to avoid the upcoming epicenter of cataclysm and listen to voices of reason for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, stop acceleration of military confrontations between Russia, NATO, America, the EU and others. At the edge of REASON, war is anti-human and anti-Nature.

Dr. Rudolf Hansel (“What is Truth, What is Lie? How to Reach Fellow Human Beings Intellectually and Emotionally”: Joining with them, empathising with them and appealing to them without coercion. Global Research: 12/08/22), attempts to make a logical conclusion:

Freedom does not mean the freedom of the rulers. They take the “freedom” to exploit people:………the world will only recover and humanity will only progress – history shows us this – if people associate on a voluntary basis; if they sit down together and think about how they can solve the problems together. Freedom in the sense of voluntariness is an essential part of man’s social nature. Misusing it can have serious consequences.

Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution and international affairs with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution, 2019.

An Appeal to United States to take “Responsibility to Protect”(R2P) Rohingya for a Permanent Solution by Tom Arcaro

 I have been receiving multiple emails per day for the last several months from Mohammed Husson Ali, a 71 year old Rohingya man now living in the United States. Daily, Mohammad scours Internet for any news relevant to his people and in a soulful act of witnessing, he forwards these news items to those who he knows will be interested. He added me to his mailing list -now 168 people long- after reading an article I had written about the plight of the Rohingya. Born in Myo Thu Gyi village, Maungdaw Town, Arakan, Burma, he earned several degrees and worked in various capacities including with the UNHCR and the World Food Programme. Fleeing violence in Burma, his family is part of the Rohingya diaspora. His wife, 3 sons,2 daughters,1son-inlaw, 2-daughter in-law, 3 grandsons and 2 granddaughters now living in Kutupalong refugee camp, Cox’d Bazar, Bangladesh. His single son who fled to Malaysia to escape persecutions of Myanmar Junta recently arrive in United State under refugee resettlement programme. His is a living example of ‘three generations stateless.’

Mohammad contacted me a couple weeks ago requesting that I help him publish an ‘open letter to the US government.’ What you will read below are his words with liberal edits and additions from me (all approved by Mohammad).

We are both aware that publishing his words on my small platform will not produce any immediate change. But we are both determined not be silent. If you do read this post please pass it on to others so that more people can learn about the Rohingya and their struggle for freedom and dignity.

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An Appeal to United States to take “Responsibility to Protect”(R2P) Rohingya for a Permanent Solution 

By
Mohammed Husson Ali, Rohingya
Edits and additions made by Tom Arcaro

31 December, 2022

Rohingya refugees walk through rice fields after crossing the border from Myanmar into Palang Khali, Bangladesh, October 19, 2017. © 2017 Jorge Silva/Reuters

I am a Rohingya grandfather, now living in the United States since 2012. I have children and grandchildren who are part of the Rohingya diaspora, some living in the Kutupalong refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh I keep a very close watch of all news related to the Rohingya and my frustrations concerning our continued persecution are growing. Recent stories of dangerous and fatal sea crossings by Rohingya seeking a better life tear at my heart. I, like the vast majority of Rohingya, seek to be repatriated to our homes in Burma but only after proof that full rights and citizenship will be granted. Distressingly, this dream of safe return grows more dim each passing year. 

Here are just a few headlines from the last few weeks:

• Rohingya refugees reach Indonesia after month at sea (BBC)
• Second boat with 185 Rohingya arrives in Indonesia’s Aceh (Aljezeera)
• UN says 2022 among deadliest years for Rohingya at sea (Aljezeera)
• U.N. urges countries to help Rohingya at sea as hundreds land in Indonesia (Reuters)
• Displaced from Myanmar: Can’t Go Back and Can’t Go Forward (The Diplomat)
• Nearly 200 starving Rohingya refugees rescued from stricken vessel (CNN)
• Myanmar: Action needed to stop carnage, says UN expert after adoption of Security Council resolution (UN press release)
• Myanmar arrests 112 Rohingya ‘without documents’ (Bangkok Post) 

The Rohingyas are indigenous people of Northern Arakan (Rakhine) State, Burma, an ethnic minority group. According to the United Nations and most humanitarian rights advocacy organizations, the Rohingya are the most persecuted people in the world. Rohingyas have been facing extreme discrimination and genocide since the 1962 military coup. In 1982 the Burma Citizenship Act erased the Rohingya as citizens of Burma (Myanmar). Those in power use the derogatory words “Kalla” or Bangali, referring to the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh despite the fact Rohingya have been in Burma for many hundreds of years, far pre-dating British colonization.

Then, in 2017 the Myanmar military and the NLD (National League for Democracy) government accelerated the persecution and initiated a genocidal clearance operation against the Muslim majority Rohingya. This included arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, orders to “shoot on sight,” burning villages, the rape and execution of women, and other horrific abuses. The fact of this genocide has been officially recognized by the US Department of State, the UN, and the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The Burmese military attack on the Rohingya had explicit and violent religious overtones and included the widespread attack on mosques and madrasa, and purposeful desecration of the Holy Book Koran. The Buddhist majority Tatmadaw stated  “If they’re Bengali, they’ll be killed”.

In August of 2017 more than 750,000  Rohingya fled to Bangladesh and for the last five years have lived as  refugees in the Kutupalong refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar. As of 2022, there are now a total of 1.5 million Rohingya residing in Bangladesh, most arriving in 2017 but many who fled Burma in the last 30 years. There are also more than 150,000  Rohingya languishing in open air prisons as internally displaced (IDPs) within the borders of Myanmar.  Additionally, the Rohingya diaspora include many tens of thousands of Rohingya scattered across the south Asia nations with no rights, even for employment, making them vulnerable to exploitation, arrest, and human trafficking. 

Here are some additional facts.

• The United States  has provided critical humanitarian emergency funding for the Rohingya refugees including $1.9 billion since it began in August 2017. The United States is the biggest international doner among others 
• On 21 March 2022 on behalf of United States US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken declared that the Burmese military had committed and continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya. 
• In late December, 2022  President Joe Biden signed the The Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2022 – or BURMA Act – which was passed by the Senate as part of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.

As a Rohingya man I believe I speak for the vast majority of all Rohingya in offering very many thanks to the United States for its continued generosity and ongoing policy decisions supporting humanity and dignity for the Rohingya people.

For the above reasons, I respectfully appeal to the Biden administration to move forward with urgency on the following:

• To involve even more aggressive use all diplomatic and economic tools to once and for all end the genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar.
• To work for the rights, liberty and justice of Rohingyas including an internationally monitored repatriation to Myanmar with full citizenship and an assurance of absolute safety. We seek the creation of a ‘Safe Zone’ for the Rohingyas within Arakan State in the Rohingyas ancestral homeland under supervision of  United States.
  Using the UN language, to take “Responsibility to Protect” Rohingyas, safe lives and liberty.
• To provide technical support and training to Rohingya and facilities for basic human rights including access to education, health care, food security and other livelihoods both now in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh and after repatriation in Myanmar.

More than five years have passed since the 2017 genocide and justice has yet to be done by the international community. Though the United States has frequently led the fight for justice, more needs to be done before more desperate acts are committed by Rohingya seeking to be free from living in an open air prison that is the world’s largest refugee camp. 

How the world responds to the most egregious crime of all -genocide- is a measure of our collective humanity. I cannot rest until I have done everything possible to seek justice for my fellow Rohingya, and I humbly request that the US government travel this same path toward a more just world for all humans.

Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Saudi team Al Nassr

 Famed Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, the team announced on social media Friday.

The club tweeted a picture of Ronaldo holding up a yellow No. 7 Al Nassr jersey and said: “History in the making. This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves. Welcome @Cristiano to your new home @AlNassrFC.”

When asked Friday, a representative for Ronaldo did not disclose terms of the deal. CNN has reached out to Al Nassr for comment.

The 37-year-old, who was a free agent and immediately available due to his high-profile break-up with Manchester United last month, did not need to wait for the January transfer window to open to put pen to paper on a new contract.

Rumors had been swirling since his departure from Manchester that he was close to signing with a club in Saudi Arabia – something he had previously denied.

In an interview with Piers Morgan for TalkTV released just before the start of the World Cup, Ronaldo explained how he felt United had betrayed him and that he has no respect for manager Erik ten Hag.

Ronaldo’s departure from United brought the 37-year-old’s second spell at the club to an acrimonious and disappointing end having scored just once in 10 Premier League appearances this season.

He was largely used as a substitute by Ten Hag and in October refused to go onto the pitch against Tottenham Hotspur, instead walking down the tunnel with minutes of the match still remaining.

When he first joined United in 2003, Ronaldo transformed himself from a tricky, skilful winger into one of the best players in the world.

He won three Premier League titles, the FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League, and the first of his five Ballon d’Or crowns before moving to Real Madrid in 2009.

Ronaldo’s return to United from Juventus last year was greeted with much fanfare by the club’s supporters, but his second period at Old Trafford failed to match the success of his first as United ended last season without any trophies.

Despite a disappointing 2022 Qatar World Cup with Portugal, Ronaldo became the first man to score in five World Cups.

Key takeaways from six years of Donald Trump’s federal tax returns

 Six years of Donald Trump’s federal tax returns released on Friday show the former president paid very little in federal income taxes the first and last year of his presidency, claiming huge losses that helped limit his tax bill, among other revelations.

The returns, long shrouded in secrecy, were released to the public on Friday by the House Ways and Means Committee, the culmination of a battle over their disclosure that went to the Supreme Court. They confirm a report issued from the Joint Committee on Taxation that Trump claimed large losses before and throughout his presidency that he carried forward to reduce or practically eliminate his tax burden. For example, his returns show that he carried forward a $105 million loss in 2015 and $73 million in 2016.

The thousands of pages of documents from the former president’s personal and business federal tax returns – which spanned the years 2015 through 2020 – provide a complex web of raw data about Trump’s finances, offering up many questions about his wealth and income that could be pursued both by auditors and Trump’s political opponents.

Here are key takeaways from the documents reviewed by CNN:

Returns shed light on questionable tax claims

Trump’s returns also show the former president made several claims that auditors may question.

The Joint Committee on Taxation, which reviewed the returns, flagged that Trump claimed a large number of questionable items on his tax returns, including eyebrow-raising amounts of interest he claims to have received from loans to his children that the bipartisan committee said could indicate Trump was disguising gifts.

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The JCT argued that an auditor should investigate the loan agreements Trump made with his children, including the interest rates. If the interest Trump claims to have charged his children was not at market rate, for example, it could be considered a gift for tax purposes, requiring him to pay a higher tax rate on the money.

In each year of his presidency, for example, Trump claimed he received exactly $18,000 in interest on a loan he said he gave his daughter Ivanka Trump and $8,715 in interest from his son Donald Trump, Jr.. In 2017 to 2019, Trump said he received exactly $24,000 from his son Eric Trump, and Eric paid him $19,605 in interest in 2020.

That raises the question of whether “the loans were bona fide arm’s length transactions, or whether the transfers were disguised gifts that could trigger gift tax and a disallowance of interest deductions by the related borrowers,” the JCT said in its report.

“It’s unusual to have interest in round numbers – very rare,” said Martin Sheil, former supervisory special agent for IRS’ Criminal Investigation unit. “An auditor would want to see payments, loan agreements and interest rates.”

There are also questions about Trump’s returns listing an identical amount of company expenses and income.

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For example, in 2017, Trump claimed his business DJT Aerospace LLC, which operates Trump’s personal helicopter, claimed $42,965 in income. It also claimed the exact same amount – $42,965 – in expenses. In other words, every single dollar – to the dollar – that the company earned was negated by the company’s expenses, such as payroll, fuel and other items. That left the company with zero income – and nothing to tax.

“Total expenses equaling total income is a statistical impossibility,” said Shiel, who added that the figures are not evidence something illegal was done. “It just doesn’t happen.”

The JCT in its report raised several similar questions. For example, it noted IRS auditors were investigating multiple so-called large unusual questionable items on Trump’s tax returns for which the regulator wanted Trump to provide supporting evidence to back up his claims.

Release comes after years-long fight

The returns were obtained by the Democratic-run Ways and Means Committee only a few weeks ago after a protracted legal battle that lasted nearly four years. The committee voted last week to release the tax returns, but their release was delayed to redact sensitive personal information like Social Security numbers.

The release of the tax returns follows a pursuit for the documents that had typically been made public voluntarily by past US presidents. Trump and his legal team continuously sought to keep his returns secret, arguing that Congress had never wielded its legislative powers to demand a president’s tax returns, which Trump said could have far-reaching implications.

“The Democrats should have never done it, the Supreme Court should have never approved it, and it’s going to lead to horrible things for so many people,” Trump said in a statement following the release.

“The ‘Trump’ tax returns once again show how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises.”

Other Republicans also criticized Democrats’ efforts in pursuit of the tax returns as political, with Texas Rep. Kevin Brady – the committee’s top conservative – saying the release would amount to “a dangerous new political weapon that reaches far beyond the former president and overturns decades of privacy protections for average Americans that have existed since the Watergate reform.”

During the committee’s closed-door meeting last week, Republicans warned that the release of Trump’s tax returns by Democrats could prompt retribution once Republicans control the House next year – like going after the taxes of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

“I had countless people tell me of things that they were concerned with President Biden’s family dealings and how they believed that him and his family is enriched because of his political power. And they are begging for oversight and accountability on that,” said Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican, according to excerpts the GOP released from the meeting. “Do we need to go down all that? Is that what you all are wishing to do?”

Returns show he held foreign bank accounts while in office

Trump reported having foreign bank accounts between 2015 and 2020, including a bank account in China between 2015 and 2017, his tax returns show.

Trump was required to report the accounts to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The filings show that the former president maintained foreign bank accounts in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland and China.

The China bank account, which was reported by The New York Times in 2020, was tied to Trump International Hotels Management’s business push in the country, Trump Organization lawyer Alan Garten said at the time.

The 2020 disclosure of business dealings in China came as the Trump campaign sought to portray Biden as a “puppet” of China. Biden’s income tax returns and financial disclosures showed no business dealings or income from China.

The returns also show that Trump paid more in foreign taxes than in US federal income taxes in 2017, the first year of his presidency.

In 2017, Trump paid just $750 in US federal income taxes because of large carry-forward losses that he claimed in prior years, negating virtually all of his American tax liability. Yet Trump paid nearly $1 million in taxes to foreign countries that year.

The fact that Trump paid foreign taxes isn’t in itself surprising, but it shows how Trump’s companies and businesses interests span the globe, and how those businesses are subject to local tax laws and regulations.

On his tax return, Trump listed business income, taxes, expenses or other notable financial items in Azerbaijan, Panama, Canada, India, Qatar, South Korea, the United Kingdom, China, the Dominican Republic, United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, Grenada, US territory Puerto Rico, Georgia, Israel, Brazil, St. Maarten, Mexico, Indonesia, Ireland, Turkey, and St. Vincent.

Trump claimed no charitable deductions in 2020

During his presidency, Trump pledged he would donate the entirety of his $400,000 salary to charity each year. He frequently boasted about donating parts of his quarterly paycheck to various government agencies.

“While the press doesn’t like writing about it, nor do I need them to, I donate my yearly Presidential salary of $400,000.00 to different agencies throughout the year,” Trump tweeted in March 2019.

If he donated his 2020 salary, he didn’t claim it on his taxes. Among the six years of tax returns the House Ways and Means Committee released, 2020 was the sole year in which Trump listed no donations to charity.

Trump’s finances took a sizable hit in 2020, probably as a result of the pandemic and the lack of demand for vacations and lodging in his hotels. Trump reported large donations to charity in 2018 and 2019, helping reduce the amount he owed on millions of dollars in income he reported in those years.

But Trump posted a massive $4.8 million adjusted loss in 2020, a year, which alone wiped out his federal income tax obligation. Trump paid $0 in federal income taxes in 2020.

The Joint Committee on Taxation raised questions about the accuracy of some enormous charitable deductions Trump claimed in previous years’ tax returns, including large and unsubstantiated cash gifts. Trump also claimed a $21.1 million deduction in 2015 for donating 158 acres of his 212-acre property called Seven Springs in North Castle, New York. That donation, which was made to a land trust, is a focus of the Manhattan district attorney’s criminal investigation of the Trump Organization’s finances.

Trump’s own 2017 tax law appears to have reduced the amount he was able to deduct from tax bill

Trump claimed that the 2017 Republican tax plan he championed and signed would cost him and his family “a fortune.” It’s not clear that it did, but it does appear to have limited the amount that he could claim in one part of his complex tax return.

The 2017 tax law capped the state and local tax deduction, known as SALT, at $10,000 a year. In previous years, tax filers were allowed to deduct more of their SALT payments. Although the law was passed in 2017, it didn’t apply until the 2018 tax year.

In 2018, Trump listed $10.5 million in state and local taxes, but could deduct just $10,000 of that from his taxes. In 2019, Trump paid $8.4 million in SALT but was capped at $10,000. And in 2020, Trump said he paid $8.5 million in SALT but claimed the maximum allowable $10,000.

By comparison, in 2016 and 2017, Trump was able to deduct significantly more from state and local taxes. For example, in 2016 and 2017, he deducted $5.2 million each year in SALT payments.

Some Democrats criticized the 2017 tax law’s SALT cap for taking aim at residents in the Northeast and the West who have some of the highest property taxes in the country. The Tax Foundation found that property tax deductions capped in 2017 had previously accounted for about a third of all state and local tax deductions. But Trump defended the provision, saying the cap was necessary even if it would hurt his own finances.

It’s not clear how much the SALT cap hurt Trump, however. Although that particular deduction was capped, Trump claimed many other deductions that limited the amount of federal income taxes he had to pay.

Presidential audits

The Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for overseeing the IRS and writing tax policy, requested the returns under the authority of section 6103 of the US tax code. Their report focused primarily on whether Trump’s tax returns during his time in office were properly audited under the IRS’ mandatory audit program for US presidents.

The committee found that the IRS opened only one “mandatory” audit during Trump’s term – for his 2016 tax return. And that didn’t take place until the fall of 2019, after Chairman Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, first sent a letter asking the IRS for Trump’s returns and tax information. The report characterizes the presidential audit program as “dormant.”

“The research that was done as it relates to the mandatory audit program was nonexistent,” Neal said last week following the committee vote.

Republicans on the committee argued that Democrats acknowledged it was “not necessary to publicly release the private tax information to change requirements on the presidential audit program.”

A Republican dissent issued Friday warned that, “Democrats’ dangerous precedent will lead the American public to demand other people’s tax returns to be released.”

Last week, the House passed a bill that would reform the presidential audit process in a largely symbolic vote before Republicans take the majority in the new Congress. The legislation is not expected to be taken up by the Senate before the new Congress is sworn in.