Donald Trump given new deadline for releasing tax returns by senior Democrat

Trump claims his reason for refusing to release the returns is that he’s under IRS audit

A senior Democrat has set a new deadline for Donald Trump's tax returns to be released, after previous requests were refused by the White House.

Richard Neal, the chairman of the US House Ways and Means Committee requested the last six years of the president's personal and business tax returns by 23 April.

Mr Neal, a Democrat from Massachusetts, is the only member of the House of Representatives that is permitted to request taxpayer data from the treasury, but the White House has refused to comply and provide the requested information.

This is not the first time Mr Neal has attempted to pressure the president and the Internal Revenue Service into releasing the tax returns.

He previously set an 10 April deadline, to which the IRS and Trump refused to comply.

As reported by Reuters, Mr Neal will consider a lack of complying with the deadline as a denial of his request.

Mr Trump refused to release his tax returns on the campaign trail and throughout his presidency, defying the previous precedent set by presidential candidates and elected officials.

Trump claims his reason for refusing to release the returns is that he’s under IRS audit, but it is a common belief among American democrats that there are conflicts of interest in the Trump presidency and Trump’s global business empire.