Members of the New York state Assembly made notable changes over the weekend to a prominent bill aimed at helping Congress obtain President Donald Trump’s state tax returns.
Those changes include limiting the state tax returns available for Congress to access to those filed only by individuals serving in federal, state and local elected and higher-level public offices, along with entities those people control or have a large stake in.
Some critics said that the original bill was too broad, and that any taxpayer in New York state should be nervous with Congress now capable of obtaining their state tax returns.
The legislation, expected to be voted on Wednesday, seeks to amend state law to permit the commissioner of the state Department of Taxation and Finance to release any state tax returns requested by the leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee or the Joint Committee on Taxation — the three congressional tax committees. Existing laws generally prohibit such a release.