Turns out that the head of the IRS has a pecuniary interest in the value of the Trump brand:
IRS Chief Makes More Than $100,000 Per Year Off Trump Property, Documents Show
Was this why he refused to comply when Trump's tax returns were subpoenaed? I guess time will tell.
At the very least, it seems ethically dubious for Rettig not to have declared a conflict of interest and stayed out of this matter.
IRS Chief Makes More Than $100,000 Per Year Off Trump Property, Documents Show
The commissioner of the IRS—who is responsible for releasing President Trump's tax returns to Congress—owns two rental properties at the Trump International Waikiki that he profits off of while in office, according to new documents obtained by a watchdog group in Washington, raising new questions about his withholding of Trump’s tax returns as the president goes to court to keep them hidden.
[...]
Rettig, who failed to disclose his connection to the Trump property when first appointed, told House lawmakers in 2019 that it was ultimately his decision—under the supervision of Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin—whether or not to turn over Trump’s federal tax returns to Congress, as House Democrats have requested.
Rettig denied the request for Trump’s tax documents in May 2019, with Mnuchin telling lawmakers that their subpoena for the president’s tax returns “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.”
[...]
“The IRS Commissioner has a vested interest in the success of the Trump brand—and of preventing anything that could damage it,” CREW said in a post revealing the Rettig documents, speculating that it could be “toxic” for the value of Rettig’s property “if a bombshell in [Trump’s] tax returns were released.”
IRS Chief Makes More Than $100,000 Per Year Off Trump Property, Documents Show
Was this why he refused to comply when Trump's tax returns were subpoenaed? I guess time will tell.
At the very least, it seems ethically dubious for Rettig not to have declared a conflict of interest and stayed out of this matter.