This year, tax day isn’t just about getting your own affairs in order. To many, it’s another chance to call on President Donald Trump to his own tax releases.
In the Boston area, protestors are expected to gather at Cambridge Commons on Saturday for a tax day rally. More than 4,500 people have responded they will attend on the event’s Facebook page and another 18,000 have expressed interest in the rally.
“If ever patriots were needed to address threats to the country, that time is now,” organizers wrote. “Trump’s lies, corruption and his new budget proposal pose a clear and present danger to the nation. We demand that Donald Trump release his tax returns!” The rally is scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. on April 15, at Cambridge Commons Park. Though April 15 is traditionally when taxes are due, this year, the federal government has extended that deadline until Tuesday, April 18.
Similar marches will take place in Washington, D.C., and more than 40 states in dozens of communities, according to the group Tax March, which is a lead organizer. There are also planned marches in Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
Sponsors for the Cambridge event include the Massachusetts Alliance of HUD Tenants, New England Independence Campaign, the Massachusetts Budget For All campaign, Quaker justice group American Friends Service Committee and the nonprofit Massachusetts Peace Action.
Massachusetts Peace Action took donations via PayPal to “make the Tax Day Rally as big as possible.” The organization recently announced speakers, including Barbara Madeloni, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association; Dan Fishman, political director of the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts; Josh Hoxie of the Institute of Policy Studies, a left-leaning think tank; and more. There will also be performances by a spoken word artist and a choir.
The event was originally intended to be held at Boston Common and at Moakley Park, but organizers then chose Cambridge Common, noting it is “the site where George Washington first took command of the army of the Continental Congress to fight for our independence from empire and tyranny.”
Organizers are hoping to call on Trump to release his tax returns, an action traditionally taken by presidential candidates so the public can see they don’t have any conflicts of interest. Trump never did as a candidate and has not as president, saying routines audits by the Internal Revenue Service does not allow him to do so. The IRS has disputed that assertion, however.
Protestors are also aiming to bring attention to Trump’s budget, which they say, “poses a mortal threat to affordable housing, job training, senior programs, education, public transportation, job safety, rural development programs and services of all kinds, and emergency food, housing and heating support.”
