Rhode Island’s state Senate passed a bill this week that would keep candidates off the presidential ballot in their state if they don’t release five years’ worth of tax returns, according to the Providence Journal.
State Sen. Gayle Goldin (D), who sponsored the bill, noted that every presidential candidate since Richard Nixon had released their tax returns voluntarily until President Trump ran for office.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he cannot release his tax returns because he is under audit, but the IRS said an audit does not prevent a candidate from releasing their personal tax information.
Goldin argued that “tax returns provide essential information about candidates’ conflicts of interest.”
Tax returns, she continued, are vital information a voter needs to know about a candidate at the ballot box.
The bill passed the Democratic-majority Senate on a 34-3 vote. It now moves to the Rhode Island state House.
