excise taxes and employment taxes and this illegally published return proves just that."

The quick publication of the information by the White House seems to run contradictory to Trump's repeated pledges not to provide tax information due to an IRS audit. However, the IRS has said that nothing prevents someone from releasing their own tax information.

Trump became the first major-party presidential nominee in decades to refuse to make his tax returns public.

Some information about Trump's tax history had been previously reported during the campaign.

The Washington Post last May showed that Trump paid no federal income tax for two years in the late 1970s because he reported having negative income in those years. Politico reported in June that Trump may have paid little or no taxes for two years inthe early 1990s . And The New York Times reported in October that Trump reported a $916 million loss on his 1995 returns, which could have allowed him to pay no taxes for up to 18 years.

Democratic lawmakers, as well as several Republican politicians, have called on Trump to release his returns, many concerned that the documents would reveal suspect financial ties, particularly to Russia.

Since Trump has taken office, Democrats have repeatedly sought to get Congress to request Trump's tax returns from the Treasury Department. Under federal tax law, the chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee and Joint Committee on Taxation can make such a request so that returns can be reviewed in a closed session.

Democrats have sent letters to the Republican chairman