II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1272 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for examination and disclosure with respect to Presidential income tax returns, to amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require the disclosure of certain tax returns by Presidents and certain candidates for the office of the President, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 25, 2023 Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. WARREN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. WELCH, Ms. KLO- BUCHAR, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for examination and disclosure with respect to Presi- dential income tax returns, to amend the Ethics in Gov- ernment Act of 1978 to require the disclosure of certain tax returns by Presidents and certain candidates for the office of the President, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Audit and 4 Tax Transparency Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1272 IS SEC. 2. EXAMINATION AND DISCLOSURE WITH RESPECT TO 1 PRESIDENTIAL INCOME TAX RETURNS. 2 (a) AUDIT.—Subchapter A of chapter 78 of the Inter- 3 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating 4 section 7613 as section 7614 and by inserting after section 5 7612 the following new section: 6 ‘‘SEC. 7613. EXAMINATION WITH RESPECT TO PRESI- 7 DENTIAL INCOME TAX RETURNS. 8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As rapidly as practicable after 9 the filing of any Presidential income tax return, the Sec- 10 retary shall conduct an examination to ascertain the cor- 11 rectness of such return and enforce the requirements of 12 this title with respect to the taxable year covered by such 13 return. 14 ‘‘(b) REPORTS.— 15 ‘‘(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 16 after the filing of a Presidential income tax return, 17 the Secretary shall disclose and make publicly avail- 18 able an initial report regarding the examination with 19 respect to such return. Such report shall include— 20 ‘‘(A) the name of the taxpayer, 21 ‘‘(B) an identification of the subparagraph 22 of subsection (c)(1) which describes such re- 23 turn, 24 ‘‘(C) the date that such return was filed, 25 and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1272 IS ‘‘(D) the date on which the examination 1 with respect to such return commenced (or, if 2 such examination has not commenced as of the 3 date of such report, a detailed description of the 4 reasons that such examination has not com- 5 menced). 6 ‘‘(2) PERIODIC REPORTS.—Not later than 180 7 days after the disclosure of the report described in 8 paragraph (1) with respect to any Presidential in- 9 come tax return and not later than 180 days after 10 the most recent disclosure of a report described in 11 this paragraph with respect to such return, the Sec- 12 retary shall disclose and make publicly available a 13 periodic report regarding the examination with re- 14 spect to such return. Such report shall include— 15 ‘‘(A) the information described in subpara- 16 graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1), 17 ‘‘(B) a description of the status of the ex- 18 amination, including a description of the por- 19 tions of the examination which have been com- 20 pleted, which are in process, and which are an- 21 ticipated to take place, and 22 ‘‘(C) an estimate of the time frame for the 23 completion of the examination, including an 24 identification of factors which could alter such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1272 IS time frame, reasonable estimates of the likeli- 1 hood of such factors (taking into account the 2 specific facts and circumstances of the examina- 3 tion), and the likely specific effects of such fac- 4 tors on such time frame. 5 Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a periodic 6 report shall not be required under this paragraph 7 with respect to any return after the date on which 8 a final report is disclosed under paragraph (3) with 9 respect to such return. 10 ‘‘(3) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 11 after the completion of the examination described in 12 subsection (a) with respect to any Presidential in- 13 come tax return, the Secretary shall disclose and 14 make publicly available a final report regarding such 15 examination. Such report shall include— 16 ‘‘(A) the information described in subpara- 17 graphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1), 18 ‘‘(B) the date on which the examination 19 with respect to such return was completed, 20 ‘‘(C) a list of the audit materials (as de- 21 fined in section 6103(q)(2)) with respect to 22 such examination, and 23 ‘‘(D) a description (including the amount) 24 of each proposed adjustment, adjustment, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1272 IS controversy with respect to such examination 1 together with a description of how such pro- 2 posed adjustment or controversy was resolved 3 (or a statement that such proposed adjustment 4 or controversy was not resolved, as the case 5 may be). 6 For purposes of this paragraph, an examination 7 shall be treated as complete on the date that the 8 Secretary provides the taxpayer with a notice of defi- 9 ciency, or any closing document referred to in sec- 10 tion 6103(q)(2)(A)(v), with respect to such examina- 11 tion. 12 ‘‘(4) EXTENSION OF DUE DATE REPORT.—If a 13 request is made for an extension of the due date for 14 filing any Presidential income tax return, the Sec- 15 retary shall, not later than 90 days after such re- 16 quest is granted or denied, disclose and make pub- 17 licly available an extension of due date report with 18 respect to return. Such report shall include— 19 ‘‘(A) the information described in subpara- 20 graphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), 21 ‘‘(B) a statement that an extension of the 22 due date for the filing of such return has been 23 requested, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1272 IS ‘‘(C) the date that such request was re- 1 ceived, 2 ‘‘(D) a statement of whether such request 3 has been granted or denied, and 4 ‘‘(E) the due date of such return (includ- 5 ing any extensions). 6 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF FAILURE TO FILE.—In 7 the case of a failure to file a Presidential income tax 8 return before the close of the 60-day period begin- 9 ning with the date prescribed for filing of such re- 10 turn— 11 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall conduct the exam- 12 ination described in subsection (a) with respect 13 to the taxable year covered by the return to 14 which such failure relates, 15 ‘‘(B) reports made pursuant to this para- 16 graph shall include a statement that such re- 17 port is with respect to a return which the tax- 18 payer failed to file, and 19 ‘‘(C) this section and section 6103(q) shall 20 otherwise apply to such failure in the same 21 manner as if a return were filed at the close of 22 such period. 23 The application of this paragraph with respect to 24 any failure to file a Presidential income tax return 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1272 IS shall not prevent the application of this section with 1 respect to such return at such time as such return 2 may be filed. 3 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—For purposes of 4 this subsection, a document shall not be treated as 5 having been made publicly available unless made 6 available on the Internet. 7 ‘‘(c) PRESIDENTIAL INCOME TAX RETURN.—For 8 purposes of this section— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Presidential in- 10 come tax return’ means any relevant income tax re- 11 turn of— 12 ‘‘(A) a President, 13 ‘‘(B) an individual who is married (within 14 the meaning of section 7703(a)) to a President 15 for the taxable year to which such return re- 16 lates, 17 ‘‘(C) any corporation or partnership which 18 is controlled by any individual described in sub- 19 paragraph (A) or (B) at any time during the 20 taxable year to which such return relates, 21 ‘‘(D) the estate of any person described in 22 (A) or (B) or any estate with respect to which 23 any person described in subparagraph (A), (B), 24 or (C) is an executor or beneficiary at any time 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1272 IS during the taxable year to which such return 1 relates, and 2 ‘‘(E) any trust with respect to which any 3 person described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), 4 or (D) is a grantor, fiduciary, or beneficiary, or 5 for which another trust described in this sub- 6 paragraph is a grantor or beneficiary, at any 7 time during the taxable year to which such re- 8 turn relates. 9 Such term shall include any schedule, attachment, or 10 other document filed with such return. 11 ‘‘(2) RELEVANT INCOME TAX RETURN.—The 12 term ‘relevant income tax return’ means, with re- 13 spect to a President, any income tax return if— 14 ‘‘(A) any portion of the taxable year to 15 which such return relates is during the period 16 that such President is the President, 17 ‘‘(B) the due date for such return (includ- 18 ing any extensions) is during such period, or 19 ‘‘(C) such return is filed during such pe- 20 riod. 21 ‘‘(3) CONTROL.—For purposes of paragraph 22 (1)(C)— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 24 provided in this paragraph, control shall be de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1272 IS termined under the rules of paragraphs (2) and 1 (3) of section 6038(e) (determined without re- 2 gard to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such 3 paragraph (2) and without regard to subpara- 4 graph (C) of paragraph (3) thereof). 5 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTION ON FAMILY ATTRIBU- 6 TION.— 7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro- 8 vided in clause (ii), for purposes of apply- 9 ing subparagraph (A)— 10 ‘‘(I) section 318 shall be applied 11 without regard to subsection 12 (a)(1)(A)(ii) thereof, and 13 ‘‘(II) section 267(c) shall be ap- 14 plied by treating the family of an indi- 15 vidual as including only such individ- 16 ual’s spouse (in lieu of the application 17 of paragraph (4) thereof). 18 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION FOR RECENT TRANS- 19 FER TO FAMILY MEMBERS.—For purposes 20 of determining whether any corporation or 21 partnership is controlled by a President 22 under paragraph (1)(C) for any taxable 23 year, clause (i) shall not apply if such cor- 24 poration or partnership was controlled by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1272 IS such President (after application of clause 1 (i)) at any time during the 4 immediately 2 preceding taxable years. 3 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION TO AMENDED RETURNS.—For 4 purposes of this section and section 6103(q), any amend- 5 ment or supplement to a return of tax shall be treated 6 as a separate return of tax and the determination of when 7 such amendment or supplement is filed, and whether such 8 amendment or supplement is a relevant income tax return, 9 shall be made without regard to the underlying return.’’. 10 (b) DISCLOSURE.—Section 6103 of such Code is 11 amended by redesignating subsection (q) as subsection (r) 12 and by inserting after subsection (p) the following new 13 subsection: 14 ‘‘(q) DISCLOSURE WITH RESPECT TO PRESIDENTIAL 15 INCOME TAX RETURNS.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall dis- 17 close and make publicly available (within the mean- 18 ing of section 7613(b))— 19 ‘‘(A) each Presidential income tax return 20 (as defined in section 7613(c)), 21 ‘‘(B) each report described in section 22 7613(b), and 23 ‘‘(C) any audit materials with respect a re- 24 turn described in subparagraph (A). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1272 IS ‘‘(2) AUDIT MATERIALS.—The term ‘audit ma- 1 terials’ means, with respect to any return: 2 ‘‘(A) Any of the following which are pro- 3 vided by the Secretary to the taxpayer (or any 4 designee of the taxpayer): 5 ‘‘(i) Any written communication which 6 identifies such return as being subject to 7 examination. 8 ‘‘(ii) Any written communication 9 which proposes the adjustment of any item 10 on such return, any report by an examiner 11 related to such proposed adjustment, and 12 any supervisory approval of any penalty 13 proposed as part of such adjustment. 14 ‘‘(iii) Any memorandum or report of 15 the Internal Revenue Service Independent 16 Office of Appeals with respect to such re- 17 turn, and any denial of any request de- 18 scribed in subparagraph (B). 19 ‘‘(iv) Any notice of deficiency with re- 20 spect to such return. 21 ‘‘(v) Any closing documents with re- 22 spect to the examination of such return, 23 including any closing agreement or no 24 change letter. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1272 IS ‘‘(B) Any request for referral to the Inter- 1 nal Revenue Service Independent Office of Ap- 2 peals of any controversy with respect to such 3 return. 4 ‘‘(C) Any petition filed with the Tax Court 5 for a redetermination of any deficiency referred 6 to in subparagraph (A)(iv). 7 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN IDENTITY IN- 8 FORMATION.—The information disclosed and made 9 publicly available under paragraph (1) shall not in- 10 clude any identification number of any person (in- 11 cluding any social security number), any financial 12 account number, the name of any individual who has 13 not attained age 18 (as of the close of the taxable 14 year to which the return relates), the name of any 15 employee of the Department of the Treasury, or any 16 address (other than the city and State in which such 17 address is located). 18 ‘‘(4) TIMING OF DISCLOSURES.—Any informa- 19 tion [Text truncated for display. 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