The Latest: IRS chief says he’ll decide on Trump tax returns

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government during a hearing, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government during a hearing, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s tax returns (all times local):

4:30 p.m.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig says it’s his decision — though under the supervision of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — whether to comply with a request by Democrats to turn over President Donald Trump’s tax returns.

Rettig told a House panel Tuesday that the IRS is “working on” a response to last week’s letter from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal that asked for Trump’s tax returns.

Neal asked for the returns by Wednesday.

Neither Rettig nor Mnuchin — who testified before two House panels Tuesday — would state flatly which of them would make the decision on whether to release Trump’s tax filings.

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10:45 a.m.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says his department intends to “follow the law” and is reviewing a request by a top House Democrat to provide President Donald Trump’s tax returns to lawmakers.

Mnuchin told a House panel that he has not had any communications with the president or his top staff about the department’s decision whether or not to provide Trump’s tax returns under a nearly century-old statute that says the Treasury Department “shall furnish” them when requested.

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said in a Sunday show appearance that lawmakers will “never” see Trump’s returns.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal requested the returns last week in a letter to Mnuchin that set a deadline of Wednesday to provide them. Mnuchin says he “looks forward to responding.”

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12:25 a.m.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig is facing off with lawmakers on Capitol Hill for the first time since House Democrats last week asked him for President Donald Trump’s tax returns.

Rettig is sure to face questions from a House Appropriations Committee panel on the topic Tuesday afternoon. The White House has signaled it’ll fight the request.

Last week, the chairman of a different House panel asked for Trump’s personal and business returns by Wednesday in a letter to Rettig, relying on a 1924 statute that says the Treasury Department “shall furnish” them when requested. The IRS is part of Treasury.

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said on “Fox News Sunday” that lawmakers will “never” see Trump’s returns.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin squares off with lawmakers in the morning.