April 20, 2011; Source: Politico | On the heels of the release of the Obama’s tax returns last week, Politico has conducted a survey of GOP 2012 hopefuls and found that none are planning on making their returns public.
Donald Trump says that he will release his personal tax returns when the president shows his birth certificate.
While candidates are required to file financial disclosures, there is no legal requirement to make tax returns public.
Sign up for our free newsletters
Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.
The Republican line-up for 2012 includes a number of millionaires such as Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour, and Newt Gingrich, among others, that could make easy targets for Democrats should their tax returns become public.
After Mike Huckabee made his returns public in 2008, he ran into trouble with the IRS. Huckabee, who regrets releasing his returns said, “I was naïve enough to think that if I provide everything beyond what is legally required that I would be applauded, [but] what I found was all I did was hand over fodder for people in the print media and political opponents who like to file ethics complaints."—Aaron Lester