OA270: Happy Tax Day!

Today's episode brings you a trio of timely stories that all revolve around taxes: the Michael Avenatti indictment (for 29 courts of tax fraud), proposed legislation that some are arguing hamstrings the IRS, and (of course) the status of Congress's efforts to get Trump's tax returns. We also learned about very cool free online tax filing (Free File)... albeit too late to help most of you. Sorry about that.

We begin with the lawyer who will never come on our show -- Michael Avenatti, who rose to fame on the back of the genius of Stormy Daniels, and whom we first debunked as a grifter just a few months later (way back in Episode 181!) Turns out he's been arrested for tax fraud. Who could have seen that coming? (Oh yeah, everyone.)

After that, it's time for a deep dive into HR 1957, the Taxpayer First Act of 2019. Is it really a Democratic-sponsored sellout to Turbotax, as some folks are saying? Listen and find out!

Then, it's time to revisit the question of Trump's taxes. Can Trump really stonewall indefinitely on his taxes? (No.) Does the law pave the way for Democrats to get his tax returns? (Yes.)

After all that, it's time for the answer to TTTBE #122 regarding the nonexistence of official documents.  As always, remember to follow our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and like our Facebook Page so that you too can play along with #TTTBE!

Appearances
None! Andrew will be at the American Atheist convention in Cincinnati, Ohio this weekend, April 19-21. And if you'd like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

For 2020: Click here to access Free File. You can read Avenatti's indictment, and/or catch up on all his scumbaggery by re-listening to Episode 181. This is the text of H.R. 1957, this is the text of the Eighth Memoradum of Understanding between the IRS and Free File, and this is the text of 67 Fed. Red. 67247 which references the MOU. Here's an example of an alarmist op-ed in the Washington Post, and this is the initial article from ProPublica. We first outlined how to get Trump's tax returns back in Episode 226; that's still the right plan. We covered Rep. Neal's request in Episode 267. The applicable statute is 26 U.S.C. § 6013. You can read Consovoy's totally crazy crazypants letter here.

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