Obama Memo on Clinton Not Releasing Her Tax Returns

To: Interested Parties

From: Obama Campaign

RE: Why Won't Hillary Clinton Release Her Tax Returns?

DA: 2/29/08

During a recent MSNBC debate, Senator Clinton was asked if she would release her tax returns. She answered, “Well, I will do it as others have done it, upon becoming the nominee or even earlier.” But the very next day, her campaign backtracked, saying, “As is customary, as the Democratic nominee Sen. Clinton will release her tax information in April at tax time.”

But waiting until April is not customary. In the 2004 Democratic primary, Governor Dean, Rep. Kucinich, Senator Lieberman, and Senator Edwards released their tax returns in April of 2003 – a full year earlier in the primary process. Senator Kerry released his tax returns in December of 2003, and General Clark released his tax returns in January of 2004.

Senator Clinton's refusal to make this very basic disclosure has raised a number of eyebrows among advocates for increased transparency. As her top Ohio supporter Governor Ted Strickland said in his 2006 campaign, if a candidate is not releasing his or her “tax return, what is he hiding? We should question what's going on.”

Senator Clinton should explain why she believes voters in the upcoming primaries shouldn't have access to the same information as voters in the general election.

Senator Obama has made a practice of releasing his tax returns (the summary and the schedules), because he believes that after seven years of secrecy from the Bush Administration, we need increased transparency in our government. Allowing voters to evaluate this information is good for the process, but this is particularly true when a candidate decides to use his or her own personal fortunes to fund their campaign, which Senator Clinton did when she loaned her campaign $5 million.

Senator Clinton's refusal to release her tax returns is part of a pattern of secrecy that has imbued her campaign and raises questions about the sort of change she would be willing and able to bring to Washington.

Equally troubling is the fact that three years after Senator Clinton said all the record in the Clinton library would be available, less than 300,000 of the 78 million documents have been released.

In the debate, Senator Clinton tried to cast some of the blame on the White House for the delayed release of her records, saying, “Now, also, President Bush claims the right to look at anything that is released, and I would urge the Bush White House to move as quickly as possible.” But White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said that Clinton representatives have known since Jan. 31 that the documents – Senator Clinton's daily public schedule during her husband's presidency – have been deemed ready for public release by the National Archives. “To my knowledge, we have not been contacted by Mrs. Clinton or anyone else about moving more quickly with the review and release of Clinton material, specifically, her schedules.”

Senator Clinton's misleading answers and refusal to release her taxes and her White House records speak to the fundamental choice facing voters in this election – more of the same Washington games or change the American people can believe in.

APRIL 2003: Howard Dean Released His 2002 Tax Return. “Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean The couple paid $29,242 in federal income taxes on a taxable income of $110,141, the two said Monday. The Deans' income came from his salary as governor of Vermont, her income as a physician and investments. Dean stepped down as governor in January. Their adjusted gross income was down slightly from the previous year - $160,033 in 2001; they paid federal income taxes of $33,294 for that year. Dean is not required to release his income taxes as part of his presidential campaign, but said he thought it important to do so.” [AP, 4/14/03] and his wife, Judy, reported $145,634 in adjusted gross income for last year.

APRIL 2003: Kucinich Released His 2002 Tax Return. Dennis Kucinich released his tax return from 2002 in April of 2003. [Plain Dealer, 4/12/03]

JANUARY 23, 2004: Wes Clark Released His 2002 Tax Return. “On Wednesday he invited an audience to review his records at the Manchester Public Library. The general's records in Room 417 lay on a table next to two empty boxes: One is labeled "Kerry's Documents"; the other is labeled "Dean's Documents." A Clark Among the documents available for inspection are five years of Clark's tax returns, which show he earned $ 1.67 million in 2002; his voter registration, which shows he voted in the May 2002 preferential primary in Arkansas as a Democrat; and the date and fees earned for speaking engagements and media appearances, which show he usually received $ 30,000 a speech. The records also include a list of his people and agency contacts as a lobbyist, including dates. Clark's testimony to Congress about Iraq was also on the table.” [Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 1/23/04] spokesman made sure to direct the reporter's attention to the boxes.

DECEMBER 2003: Kerry Released His 2002 Tax Return. “According to tax returns released by his campaign Thursday, Kerry, who files separately from his wife, reported taxable income of $111,540 for 2002, primarily based on his Senate pay. He paid $29,946 in federal taxes, $7,286 in state income taxes and $1,167 in personal property taxes. He also reported giving $18,600 to charities last year.” [AP, 12/18/03]

APRIL 2003: Joe Lieberman, Howard Dean, John Edwards Released Tax Information From 2002. tax return. They reported giving $ 18,898 to charities last year. Lieberman, a senator from Connecticut, is the third Democratic presidential candidate to voluntarily release his tax information from last year. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and his wife reported a taxable income of $ 110,141, while North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and his wife estimated theirs was nearly $ 1 million.” [AP, 4/22/03] According to the AP, “Joe and Hadassah Lieberman paid $ 73,751 in federal taxes, $ 24,592 in state and local income taxes, and $ 11,703 in real estate taxes, according to a release Tuesday from his campaign on the couple's 2002