Democrats eye Trump’s tax returns but expect long fight

WASHINGTON – Getting President Donald Trump’s tax returns is high on the list of Democratic priorities now that they have won the House.

By law, the leaders of tax-writing committees in the House and Senate can obtain tax returns and related information from the Internal Revenue Service. The House panel will be controlled by the Democrats next year.

Yet there’s no guarantee that the Trump administration will provide the president’s returns. That sets up the possibility of a legal battle that could take years to resolve.

Trump broke with political tradition in 2016 by refusing to release his income tax filings. He says he won’t release them because he’s under audit and claimed at a press conference this week that the filings are too complex for people to understand.