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A Question Mike Pence Doesn’t Answer: Will He Release Tax Returns? Mike Pence May Break With Donald Trump, Again, Over Tax Returns
(about 7 hours later)
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, spends much of his time on the campaign trail responding to questions about Donald J. Trump, the party’s presidential nominee. COLUMBUS, Ind. — Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, suggested Saturday that he might release his tax returns before Election Day, even as his running mate has shown no inclination of doing the same.
But when asked Saturday about his own tax returns, Mr. Pence had no answer. Breaking with campaign custom, the Republican presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, has refused to release his returns. On Friday, the Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, and her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, made public their own 2015 returns, while pointedly noting that Mr. Trump had not.
A day after Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, released their 2015 tax returns as a way to put pressure on Mr. Trump to release his own, Mr. Pence was visiting a farmer’s market in his hometown, Columbus, Ind., when two reporters asked if the public would get to see the governor’s returns. On Saturday morning, at a campaign stop in his hometown, Columbus, Ind., Mr. Pence ignored questions from reporters about whether he would release his returns. But in an interview with Rita Cosby of WABC Radio that aired on Saturday, he hinted, though he did not promise, that his returns could become public.
Mr. Pence, unlike Mr. Trump, is not known for great wealth or intricate financial dealings. But few are expecting him to follow the customary practice of releasing his tax returns, as that would only highlight Mr. Trump’s failure to do the same. “When my forms are filed and when my tax returns are released it’s going to be a quick read, Rita,” Mr. Pence said.
So Mr. Pence ignored the questions Saturday. Instead, the stone-faced governor, who was accompanied by his wife, Karen, stood with his hands on his hips and stared down at dozens of tomatoes on an outdoor table. As the tense moments crawled by and reporters repeated their questions, Mr. Pence and his wife bought corn and tomatoes, chatted with local business owners and snapped photos with smiling supporters. His answer suggested he had not yet filed his 2015 return; the Internal Revenue Service allows taxpayers to apply for a six-month extension from the April filing deadline. His campaign did not respond Saturday evening to requests for more details.
Mr. Trump has said he will not release his tax returns because they are being audited. Democrats have suggested he does not want to show them because they might reveal he is not as wealthy as he says, or perhaps that he pays little because of tax breaks for real estate developers. If he were to release his returns before Mr. Trump did, it would not be the first time he broke with the top of the ticket. The governor is a markedly different candidate from Mr. Trump, maintaining his balanced demeanor and even disagreeing with the volatile Mr. Trump at times, creating an unusual pairing that both men seem comfortable with for now.
When Mrs. Clinton released her returns Friday — they showed that she and her husband had earned an adjusted gross income of $10.6 million last year, mostly from books and speeches — Mrs. Clinton made a point to note that she had paid a third of her income in federal taxes. Mr. Trump has said he would not release his tax returns because they are being audited. Democrats have suggested he does not want to show them because they might reveal he is not as wealthy as he claims to be, or perhaps that he pays little in federal taxes because of breaks for real estate developers.
When Mrs. Clinton released her returns on Friday — showing that she and her husband had earned an adjusted gross income of $10.6 million last year, mostly from books and speeches — Mrs. Clinton made a point to note that she had paid a third of her income in federal taxes.
Mr. Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, who was Virginia’s secretary of education until she stepped down last month, reported income of $313,441 for 2015.Mr. Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, who was Virginia’s secretary of education until she stepped down last month, reported income of $313,441 for 2015.
Yet, Mr. Pence and Mr. Trump have not given any indication that they plan to release their tax returns before the November election. At a rally in New Hampshire on Saturday, Mr. Kaine assailed Mr. Trump for keeping his tax returns under wraps. “Even Richard Nixon released his tax returns to the public when he was running for president,” Mr. Kaine said.
Mr. Pence was campaigning Saturday alongside Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb, who is running to replace Mr. Pence as governor. The two, along with Karen Pence, had stopped by the farmer’s market between stops at local restaurants. (In fact, President Nixon did not release his taxes until 1973, a year after his last campaign. Other than Gerald Ford, who released a summary of his return, every presidential candidate since then has made their recent returns public.)
Ms. Pence, like her husband, was eager to make the case that Mr. Trump would be a great president, calling him “caring” and “kind” as she shook hands. “He says the rules that apply to everybody else do not apply to Donald J. Trump,” Mr. Kaine said.
“He takes his money, and he makes a difference in his community,” she told a 10-year-old and his grandfather at a local pub. “He’s just a great man.” In his radio interview, Mr. Pence noted that he had not become wealthy over his past 16 years as a congressman and governor, and took a shot of his own at Mrs. Clinton.
“All of this class warfare talk that we heard coming out of her speech yesterday rings a little bit hollow,” he said. “What you have, you know, what you have in the Clintons is an extremely prosperous family that’s made tens of millions of dollars related to and derivative of their time in and around public service, and the American people now know that clearly from that release.”