Today In History: Trump Won't Release Tax Returns Under Audit; Carter Deregulates Banks

March 31, 2017, is the 90th day of the year, with 275 days remaining. The moon is in a waxing crescent phase, with illumination at 15 percent.

Why Won’t Trump Release His Tax Returns?

One of the most recurring sources of contention surrounding Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was the divulging of his tax returns — or lack thereof. Media outlets were abuzz in 2016 the morning after Trump shared a note from his tax lawyers, Sheri Dillon and William Nelson, explaining the delay in releasing his tax returns.

Trump explained that he was being audited by the Internal Revenue Service and that it would be unwise for him to release his tax documents during this process. However, the note did not dictate need for Trump to withhold his returns while under audit, and no law exists barring people from releasing their tax returns during an audit. The note further revealed that Trump’s tax returns, at the time, had been under continuous examination by the IRS since 2002.

“He can obviously release [the returns] if he wants to,” said Daniel Shaviro, professor of taxation at New York University Law School, conceding, however, that Trump’s lawyers might have advised him against releasing his returns for legal strategy purposes.

Jimmy Carter Signs DIDMCA

Enter 1980. The Carter administration reigns, and the 39th president of the United States has just signed the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act, often abbreviated as DIDMCA or simply MCA.

The DIDMCA is a federal financial statute that gives the Federal Reserve greater control over nonmember banks. More specifically, the act forces all banks to abide by the Federal Reserve’s rules, allows banks to merge, removes the power of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors under the Glass-Steagall Act, allows credit unions and savings and loans to offer checkable deposits and allows institutions to regulate charges of loan interest rates, among other regulations. The DIDMCA has had some of the most significant legislative impact on the Federal Reserve since the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913.

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Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr