US has "permanently" dropped tax claims against Trump
The US Justice Department has "permanently" banned tax audits of Trump and his sons / Photo: whitehouse.gov
The Justice Department has blocked the ability of tax authorities to audit previously filed returns of the president, his sons and the Trump Organization - a precedent unparalleled in American history, The Financial Times reports.
Details
The US Department of Justice has published a one-page document that strips the country's federal tax authorities (IRS - Internal Revenue Service, the US equivalent of the IRS) of the right to prosecute Donald Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization in connection with tax audits.
"The United States DENIES, DENIES, DISMISSES, DENIES and RELEASE each of the plaintiffs from any and all claims, and DENIES forever the right to bring or continue any action," the document reads.
The ban on prosecution applies only to inspections already underway, a Justice Ministry spokesman explained to the publication. However, he added: "It wouldn't make much sense to settle a few large claims if either party could then simply turn around and try to initiate new adverse claims that may have been previously filed."
The agreement resulted from the settlement of Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, filed in January 2025. The lawsuit was prompted by the leak of the president's tax documents: in 2019-2020, a former IRS contractor turned them over to a number of US media outlets. As part of the settlement agreement, the US government also set up a $1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of alleged "political persecution" under previous administrations, the Financial Times reported. Trump himself has said he was not involved in the creation of the fund and knows "very little" about it.
There is "no precedent where the IRS has agreed in advance to permanently refuse to audit a particular individual's previously filed returns," former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told the FT. He said the public expects uniform rules for everyone - "whether you're the president or a simple plumber."
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
