Marchers take to streets in cities across US to demand Donald Trump release tax returns

Seventy-four per cent of Americans want Trump to release tax returns, polling shows

(AFP/Getty Images)

Protesters took to the streets in cities all over America today to call on President Trump to release his federal tax returns.

In the United States, 15 April is colloquially known as Tax Day, as it's usually the day on which individual tax returns are due.

This year, The Tax March movement is using the day to “send a clear message to Donald Trump: You work for us, and we demand answers.”

Organisers hope that the Tax Day events will be the biggest mass march since January’s Women’s March, which many believe was the biggest demonstration in US history.

Protests have been organised in 150 cities around the country.

"We need to see Trump's tax returns as a matter of transparency," Wes Shockley, one of the organisers of the New York City march, told NBC News.

“If we're going into a tax reform debate, we need know if what Trump wants to do is going to benefit himself. He tends to do things that help him and not necessarily others."

Recent polling shows 74 per cent of Americans want the President to release his tax returns. Every president since Richard Nixon has made theirs publicly available, but Mr Trump has repeatedly refused to do so.

The Tax March also want to use the protests to force a public debate about reforming the US tax system.

Ronald Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, who will speak at the Washington demonstration, told USA Today the American tax system was “a broken dysfunctional mess”

“If you’re a cop or a nurse, it’s compulsory. It comes right out of your check.”

"If you’re one of the fortunate few, you can do the Cayman Islands thing and decide what you’re going to pay and how you’re going to pay it."

On the campaign trail, Mr Trump promised far-reaching tax cuts, including a proposal to slash corporation tax rate to 15 per cent from its current 35 per cent level.

For individuals, the President has proposed replacing the current system of seven tax brackets with a more streamlined system of three, where the rates are 12 per cent, 25 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.

The Trump administration originally intended to publish its tax reform plan by August, but recently indicated this date might be pushed back.