NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people marched through midtown Manhattan and dozens of U.S. cities on Saturday to demand that President Donald Trump release his tax returns and to dispute his claim that the public does not care about the issue.

Organizers of “Tax March” in more than 150 cities across the country and beyond wanted to call attention to Trump’s refusal to disclose his tax history, as his White House predecessors have done for more than 40 years.

The marches coincide with the traditional April 15 deadline for U.S. federal tax returns, though the filing date was pushed backed two days this year.

There were no reports of violence or arrests, in contrast to a clash between Trump supporters and opponents that erupted at a rally in Berkeley, California, where nine people were arrested.

Two of the biggest tax marches took place in New York and Los Angeles, with each drawing about 5,000 people, according to estimates by Reuters reporters. No official estimates were immediately available.

In Manhattan, a good-natured crowd rallied at Bryant Park before marching up Sixth Avenue to Central Park.

Among the marchers was an oversized inflatable rooster, sporting an angry expression and a sweeping metallic orange hairdo meant to resemble Trump’s signature style.

“Thanks to Trump, I think that releasing your taxes when you run for president now has to be a law,” said New Yorker Marni Halasa, 51, who arrived in a tutu and leggings made of fake dollar bills and holding a sign that read “Show Me The Money!”

In Washington, more than 1,500 protesters gathered on the front lawn of the U.S. Capitol, where members of Congress addressed the crowd before it marched to the Lincoln Memorial.

“We are taking the gloves off to say knock off the secrecy Mr. President,” said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which would play a leading role in tax reform measures being considered in Congress.

Demonstrators react as they march past Trump Tower as they protest through Manhattan demanding U.S. President Donald Trump release his tax returns, in New York, U.S., April 15, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

He described Trump’s refusal to release his taxes as being “like a teenager trying to hide a lousy report card.”

TAX REFORM

Among the marchers was Melinda Colwell, 34, a stay-at-home-mother from Ledyard, Connecticut. She said she was concerned that conflicts of interest in Trump’s tax returns might foreshadow selfish interests in his tax reform policies.

“I think it’s important to know how that could influence his decisions and how he could benefit from the decisions being made,” she said.

As a candidate and as president, Trump has refused to release his tax returns, citing an ongoing audit by the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS has said that Trump can release his tax returns even while under audit.

The White House could not be reached immediately for comment on the marches.

Events were also planned in cities in Europe, Japan and New Zealand.

The marches were launched by a single tweet, organizers said. A day after the massive Jan. 21 women’s march in Washington and other cities, comedy writer Frank Lesser tapped out on Twitter, “Trump claims no one cares about his taxes. The next mass protest should be on Tax Day to prove him wrong.” It has been retweeted more than 21,000 times.

In Los Angeles, television director Mike Stutz turned up at the march dressed in costume as a Russian general and said he was called General Bullshitski. He carried a sign that read: “What Tax Returns? Putin paid cash. Trust your oligarchs,” referring to allegations of contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin.

Joe Dinkin, spokesman for the Working Families Party, one of the groups organizing the marches, said investigations into the Trump campaign’s alleged connections to Russia underscore the need to disclose his returns.

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“Without seeing his taxes, we’ll never really know who he’s working for,” said Dinkin, who expects the marches to draw at least 100,000 protesters.

There have been some glimpses into Trump’s tax history. Last month, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow reported on two pages of Trump’s 2005 return that were obtained by investigative reporter David Cay Johnston and released by DCReport.org. They showed Trump paid $38 million in taxes on more than $150 million in income.

And in October, The New York Times reported that Trump had declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 federal tax return, citing three pages of documents from the return. </s> Today is April 15th, better recognized as Tax Day. Not to worry, though — you’ve still got until April 18th to file your federal income taxes. A lot of people are using the extra time allocated to them by the government to fill out their 1040’s to demand someone else’s; President Donald Trump is that someone, of course.

People across the nation are participating in Saturday’s Tax Day March, calling on President Trump to release his personal tax returns in the name of transparency. Last year, Trump became the first person in 40 years to run for President without releasing their tax returns. During his campaign Trump assured voters once the IRS was done auditing his past taxes he would gladly release them, but nearing his 100th day in office he has still yet to do so. Trump has insisted, against all poll findings and eye-ball-and-ear-tests, that it’s only the media and far-left that care about his tax returns.

One of the reported 150-plus cities participating in the Tax Day March is Palm Beach, Florida, home of Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort. The cleverly named March-A-Lago protest will move as close as possible to the resort, where Trump and his family are scheduled to spend the weekend. Fox News reports over 25,000 people are expected to attend the Tax Day March in Washington D.C. that has promised to include speeches from D.C. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Reps. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md.

As the Tax Day March protest made its way into this afternoon, protestors posted pictures and videos to social media: </s> CHICAGO (CBS News) — Protesters took to the streets in dozens of cities nationwide Saturday to call on President Trump to release his tax returns, saying Americans deserve to know about his business ties and potential conflicts of interest.

Organizers said the protests — dubbed the Tax March — were scheduled in nearly 150 cities, and stemmed from the women’s march that took place the day after Mr. Trump’s inauguration.

Nearly 10,000 people in Chicago indicated on Facebook they would attend demonstrations, CBS Chicago reports. Tuesday, April 18, is the deadline for taxpayers to file returns.

Mr. Trump, who spent the morning at his Florida golf course, avoided several hundred protesters when his motorcade took a circuitous route back to Mar-A-Lago, his Palm Beach, Florida, estate. Protesters marched across the bridge that divides West Palm Beach and Palm Beach, chanting and hoisting signs that read “Don the Con,” ‘’Go back to New York,” ‘’Show your taxes!” and “Show me the money!”

Two competing rallies in Berkeley, California, have prompted fears of possible violent confrontations, CBS San Francisco reports.

Mr. Trump is the first major party nominee in more than 40 years to not release his tax returns, saying it was because he was under audit. He later said that voters don’t care.

“We do care. We want to see his taxes,” said Ann Demerlis, who was among hundreds who marched in Philadelphia from City Hall to an area in front of historic Independence Hall, carrying signs and chanting “We want your taxes now!”

“It’s possible that he can now show his taxes, because his current taxes are not being audited,” said Demerlis, who carried a sign saying, “Follow the Money.”

Protest organizers say Americans deserve to know about Mr. Trump’s business ties and potential conflicts of interest.

Protesters in New York City gathered at Bryant Park in midtown and were scheduled to march to Trump Tower, according to CBS New York.

The Washington, D.C., march began with a rally at the U.S. Capitol, where Sen. Ron Wyden called on Trump to ‘knock off the secrecy.” The Oregon Democrat says the people have “a basic right to know whether the president pays his fair share.”

“We’re marching on Washington, D.C., and around the country to ask Donald Trump: WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?” the organizers’ website says. “We need a president who works for all Americans, and a tax system that does, too. Release your tax returns and commit to a fair tax system for the American people.

For four decades, presidents and major party nominees have released some of their tax returns, with the exception of Gerald Ford. Trump’s break with precedent has raised questions about possible conflicts of interest.

Jennifer Taub, an organizer who kickstarted the movement, told CBS News ahead of the event that she wasn’t sure what to expect.

“I’m just a law professor who sent out a tweet,” said Taub, who teaches at Vermont Law School. “I’m psyched, and I think lots of people are psyched about this. We shall see.” Taub’s tweet about planning a protest stemmed from her general interest in financial matters. She has testified before Congress and wrote a book about the 2008 financial crisis. “I’m all about ‘follow the money,’” Taub said. “It tells us the story about people’s priorities.” Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, on Friday posted an online video urging Congress to force Trump to release the returns. “Donald Trump is hiding something,” she says. “And we know where he’s hiding it: not in a safe, not in a vault. Nope, he’s hiding it in his taxes.” Democrats are pushing for a vote on a bill from Rep. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California, which would require the president and all major-party nominees to publicly disclose their previous three years of tax returns with the Office of Government Ethics or the Federal Election Commission. Republicans also have rebuffed Democrats’ efforts to get the House Ways and Means Committee to act. It has legal authority to obtain confidential tax records, and could vote to make them public.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> Protesters to take to streets to demand Trump release tax returns

US President Donald Trump delivers a statement about missile strikes on a Syrian airbase at his Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, April 6, 2017. — Reuters pic NEW YORK, April 15 — Tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets across the United States and beyond today to press President Donald Trump to release his tax returns and to dispute his claim that the public does not care about the issue.

The demonstrations, organised by a loose coalition of labour and left-leaning groups with various economic agendas, are intended to focus on Trump’s refusal to disclose his tax-paying history, something his predecessors in the White House have done for more than 40 years.

“When we check in with our members, this is something they care about deeply,” said Ben Wikler, Washington director of MoveOn.org, a progressive political group.

Critics have raised questions about what Trump’s tax returns say about his net worth and about his various business ties.

Organisers of “Tax March” are planning events in more than 150 cities, including New York, Washington and Los Angeles, as well as cities in Europe, Japan and New Zealand.

As a candidate and as president, Trump has steadfastly refused to release his tax returns, citing an ongoing audit by the Internal Revenue Service. In September, he told ABC News, “I don’t think anybody cares, except some members of the press.”

The IRS has said that Trump can release his tax returns even while under audit.

The demonstrations are taking place on the traditional April 15 Tax Day, the deadline for filing federal tax returns, although the IRS this year pushed back the deadline by three days.

The Trump tax marches were launched by a single tweet, organisers said.

A day after the massive Jan. 21 women’s march in Washington and other cities, comedy writer Frank Lesser tapped out on Twitter, “Trump claims no one cares about his taxes. The next mass protest should be on Tax Day to prove him wrong.” It has been retweeted more than 21,000 times.

Organisers said they stuck with the traditional April 15 Tax Day for the marches because as a Saturday it would draw more attendance, even though this year’s income tax filing deadline was pushed back to Tuesday.

Joe Dinkin, spokesman for the Working Families Party, which is also planning the marches, said ongoing investigations into the Trump campaign’s connections with Russia underscore the need to disclose his returns.

“Without seeing his taxes we’ll never really know who he’s working for,” said Dinkin, who expects the marches to draw at least 100,000 protesters.

There have been some glimpses into Trump’s tax history. Last month, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow released two pages of Trump’s 2005 return that were obtained by investigative reporter David Cay Johnston. They showed Trump paid US$38 million (RM167 million) in taxes on more than US$150 million in income. And last October, The New York Times reported that Trump had declared a US$916 million loss on his 1995 federal tax return, citing three pages of documents from the return.

In a Quinnipiac University poll released on April 4, more than two-thirds of the respondents said Trump should publicly release his tax returns. Other recent polls had similar results. — Reuters </s> PALM BEACH, Fla. — In a Tax Day groundswell of calls for President Trump to release his tax returns, hundreds of protesters marched to Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago getaway on Saturday in Florida, and thousands more gathered in Washington and other cities across the country.

On a waterfront patch facing Mr. Trump’s resort, where he is spending the weekend, demonstrators chanted “Pay! Your! Taxes!” and held signs calling him “Chicken in Chief” — the chicken being a symbol at the rallies of how Mr. Trump was “scared” to follow decades of presidential practice in releasing the returns.

“This is the closest we have come to making sure he sees us and hears us,” said Debbie Wehking, 66, a school principal from Miami. “He needs to show us his tax returns so that we can tell who’s influencing his decisions, who he owes money to, who he’s doing business with — really so we can figure out whether he needs to be impeached.”

Mr. Trump avoided the protest, taking a more circuitous route in his motorcade as he returned from a morning outing to his golf club in West Palm Beach. But while the president was spared the sight of chanting, sign-waving crowds, the demonstrations were heard around the country, in some cases snaking past properties bearing the Trump name. </s> WASHINGTON - Thousands of protesters gathered Saturday in cities across the United States to pressure President Donald Trump to release his tax returns, a move of transparency he has refused to make.

“Until he does, we’ll never know what he’s hiding or who his policies are designed to benefit. We need a president who works for all Americans — and a tax system that does, too,” said the organizers of the “Tax March” demonstrations on its website.

The protests were timed to coincide with the traditional April 15 deadline for US tax filings (though this year the deadline falls on April 18).

In Washington, several thousand protesters of all ages gathered in front of the Capitol building housing Congress, holding up signs such as “What is he hiding?” and “Real men pay their taxes.”

A huge inflatable chicken, adorned to look like Trump, toured the area, apparently to suggest that the Republican president was afraid, or chicken, to publish his tax records. “If he’s got nothing to hide, he should release his tax returns,” said protester Liz Turner, 31.

Asked what she suspected was in them, Turner replied: “Maybe something to do with Russia?”

Ellen Lodwick, 67, a retired corporate researcher from Maryland who has participated in all the local anti-Trump demonstrations since his November 8 election, cast doubt on his business dealings.

“There are probably many illegal or questionable investments in things that could affect how he looks at government and legislation, because he’s too connected,” Lodwick said.

For decades, US presidents and presidential candidates have released their tax returns voluntarily — there is no legal requirement to do so. US law requires only the publication of a financial statement that estimates assets, including debt and revenue, but does not give details on the amount of taxes paid.

Trump, a billionaire property tycoon, released such a financial statement but has kept his tax returns private, both during the election campaign and since taking office in January. Trump has justified his refusal to publish his returns by noting they are being audited. Federal tax authorities say that does not bar him from releasing the returns.

“Disclosing tax returns is the very lowest ethical bar for a president, and we are going to insist that he clear it,” Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, told the crowd in Washington.

Trump was not in the city during the demonstration; he is again spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. “Tax March” protesters demonstrated outside the exclusive property Saturday.

And in New York, several thousand protesters assembled around Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan ahead of a march to the Trump International Hotel and Tower, where Trump lived before his election. </s> Thousands of people protested across the United States on Wednesday over Republican Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the U.S. presidential election, blasting his campaign rhetoric around immigrants, Muslims and other groups.

On Wednesday evening, thousands of protesters thronged streets in midtown Manhattan while at a park further downtown hundreds who had gathered screamed “Not my president.”

In Chicago, roughly 1,000 people attempted to gather outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower downtown while chanting phrases like “No Trump! No KKK! No racist USA.” Chicago police closed roads in the area, blocking the demonstrators’ path.

“I’m just really terrified about what is happening in this country,” said 22-year-old Adriana Rizzo, who was holding a sign that read: “Enjoy your rights while you can.”

Protesters railed against Trump’s marquee campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico to keep out undocumented immigrants and other policies perceived as affecting people of color.

“I’m particularly concerned about the rise of white nationalism and this is to show my support against that type of thing,” Rizzo said.

A representative of the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the protests. In his victory speech, however, Trump said he would be president for all Americans, saying, “It is time for us to come together as one united people.”

Earlier this month, after a Ku Klux Klan newspaper declared its support for Trump, his campaign rejected the support and said that “Mr. Trump and his campaign denounces hate in any form.”

Organizers also planned rallies in New York, Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia and elsewhere for Wednesday. In Austin, the Texas capital, about 400 people staged a march through the city’s streets, police said.

Earlier in the day, some 1,500 California students and teachers rallied in the courtyard of Berkeley High School, a San Francisco Bay Area city known for its progressive politics, before marching toward the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.

Hundreds of high school and college students walked out in protest in Seattle, Phoenix, Los Angeles and three other cities in the Bay Area, Richmond, El Cerrito and Oakland.

A predominantly Latino group of about 300 high school students walked out of classes on Wednesday morning in Los Angeles and marched to the steps of City Hall, where they held a brief but boisterous rally.

Chanting in Spanish, “The people united will never be defeated,” the group held signs with slogans such as “Not Supporting Racism, Not My President” and “Immigrants Make America Great.”

Many of those students were members of the “Dreamers” generation, children whose parents entered the United States with them illegally, school officials said, and who fear deportation under a Trump administration.

“A child should not live in fear that they will be deported,” said Stephanie Hipolito, one of the student organizers of the walkout. She said her parents are U.S. citizens.

There were no immediate reports of arrests or violence.

Wednesday’s demonstrations followed a night of protests around the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere in the country in response to Trump’s political upset.

Demonstrators smashed storefront windows and set garbage and tires ablaze late Tuesday in downtown Oakland, California. A few miles away, students at the University of California, Berkeley protested on campus. </s> Demonstrators in major U.S. cities took to the streets Sunday for a fifth straight day to protest President-elect Donald Trump, whose campaign manager said President Barack Obama and Democrat Hillary Clinton should do more to support a peaceful transition.

Following several nights of unrest, crowds of people marched in parks in New York City, San Francisco and Oakland, California, according to social media.

A few thousand joined a march at the south end of Manhattan’s Central Park, beginning at a Trump property on Columbus Circle and walking toward the real estate mogul’s skyscraper headquarters less than 1.6 km away.

They chanted: “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcomed here,” and held signs such as “White silence = violence” and “Don’t mourn, organize.”

One protester said demonstrators were reclaiming what the American flag he was holding stood for.

“The flag means freedom of speech, freedom of religion, equal protection under the law and other values like diversity, respecting differences, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press,” said Daniel Hayman, 31, of Seattle, who was in New York for work. “We’re trying to reclaim the flag and push forward those values.”

Thousands in several cities have demonstrated since the results from Tuesday’s election showed Trump, a Republican, lost the popular tally but secured enough votes in the 538-member Electoral College to win the presidency, surprising the world.

Largely peaceful demonstrators in urban areas have said Trump threatens their civil and human rights. They have decried Trump’s often inflammatory campaign rhetoric about illegal immigrants, Muslims and women, as well as allegations, which he denies, that the former reality TV star sexually abused women.

Dozens have been arrested, including 71 in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday night, according to authorities. A handful of police were injured.

In San Francisco on Sunday, about 1,000 people marched through Golden Gate Park to a beach where they chanted: “Let’s make waves.” They held signs such as “I resist racism” and “Down with the Trumps.”

Across the bay in Oakland, thousands of protesters joined a festival-like atmosphere, holding peace signs and blowing soap bubbles in the sunshine. Many had brought their children, aiming to hold hands around the 3.4-mile (5.5-km) circumference of Lake Merritt in a popular urban park.

Civil rights groups have monitored violence against U.S. minorities since Trump’s win, citing reports of attacks on women in Islamic headscarves, racist graffiti and bullying of immigrant children. They have called on Trump to denounce the attacks.

Trump said he was “so saddened” to hear of instances of violence by some of his supporters against minorities, according to a transcript released Sunday of an interview with the CBS program “60 Minutes.”

Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager, said on Fox News on Sunday that she was sure many of the protesters were paid professionals, although she offered no proof.

Suggesting a double standard, Conway said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that if Clinton had won the election and Trump supporters had protested, “people would be freaking out that his supporters were not accepting election results.”

“It’s time really for President Obama and Secretary Clinton to say to these protesters: ‘This man is our president,’ ” she said.

Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan told CNN on Sunday that protests were protected by the First Amendment as long as they were peaceful.

Neither Obama nor Clinton has called for an end to the protests. Obama told Trump at the White House on Thursday that he was going to help Trump succeed, “because if you succeed, then the country succeeds.”

Clinton told supporters at a New York hotel on Wednesday: “Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.”

Trump on Sunday attacked The New York Times for coverage he said was “very poor and highly inaccurate.”

“The @nytimes sent a letter to their subscribers apologizing for their BAD coverage of me. I wonder if it will change — doubt it?” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The newspaper published a letter in Sunday’s editions from publisher Arthur Sulzberger and Executive Editor Dean Baquet, not apologizing, but thanking readers for their loyalty and asking how news outlets underestimated Trump’s support.

The Times plans to “hold power to account, impartially and unflinchingly” during the Trump presidency, they wrote. </s> Madeline Lopes, left, and Cassidy Irwin, both of Oakland, march with other protesters in downtown Oakland, Calif., early Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory set off multiple protests. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group via AP)

A trash fire burns during protests in Oakland, Calif., late Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory set off multiple protests. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group via AP)

A woman yells as she takes part in a protest against President-elect Donald Trump, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Protesters block a street and stop traffic during a demonstration against President-elect Donald Trump, early Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Smoke from a small fire and fire-extinguisher powder rises during a protest against President-elect Donald Trump, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Felomina Cervantes, of Seattle, holds a sign that reads "Shame on You America" as she takes part in a protest against President-elect Donald Trump, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

An Oakland police officer checks out damage after a window was broken by protesters at a car dealership in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory set off multiple protests. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group via AP)

LOS ANGELES — Donald Trump’s presidential victory set off protests early Wednesday on both coasts.

From Pennsylvania to California, Oregon and Washington hundreds of people hit the streets to voice their opposition to Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton.

Police said at least 500 people swarmed on streets in and around UCLA, some shouting anti-Trump expletives and others chanting “Not my president!”

There were no immediate arrests.

Smaller demonstrators were held at University of California campuses and neighbourhoods in Berkeley, Irvine and Davis and at San Jose State.

In Oakland, more than 100 protesters took to downtown streets. KNTV-TV reported that protesters burned Trump in effigy, smashed windows of the Oakland Tribune newsroom and set tires and trash on fire.

The California Highway Patrol says a woman was struck by a car during the protest and severely injured.

In Oregon, dozens of people blocked traffic in downtown Portland and forced a delay for trains on two light rail lines. Media reports say the crowd grew to about 300 people, including some who sat in the middle of the road to block traffic. The crowd of anti-Trump protesters burned American flags and chanted “That’s not my president.”

In Seattle, a group of about 100 protesters gathered in the Capital Hill neighbourhood, blocked roads and set a trash bin on fire.

In Pennsylvania, hundreds of University of Pittsburgh students marched through the streets, with some in the crowd calling for unity. The student-run campus newspaper, the Pitt News, tweeted about an event later Wednesday titled “Emergency Meeting: Let’s Unite to Stop President Trump.”
Tens of thousands of people march in dozens of U.S. cities and at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, to demand that Trump release his tax returns and to show the public cares about the issue. There were clashes between Trump supporters and protesters at some locations, with 11 people injured and 21 arrested at a riot in Berkeley, California.