GOP’s Jeb Bush to release 33 years of personal tax returns

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush plans to release 33 years of his personal income tax returns on Tuesday, more than any previous candidate for president.

The release, expected late afternoon, would include the eight years since Bush left the Florida governor’s office when, as the member of several corporate boards, he saw his income rise sharply.

Campaign spokeswoman Allie Brandenburger says Bush’s decision “is consistent with the high level of disclosure he has practiced during his life in public office.” In February, Bush released more than 275,000 emails in February that were sent to and from his private email account during his time as governor.

The voluntary disclosure stands in sharp contrast to 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who released just two years of tax returns detailing his income and tax rates for 2010 and 2011. Romney also released a letter from his tax advisers offering a summary of his tax liability for a 20-year period. Among other things, the letter described his charitable giving and the range of his effective federal tax rates.

Bush’s action is also aimed at drawing a contrast with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. She has filed the financial disclosure form required by the Federal Election Commission for presidential candidates but has not made public her tax returns, a more precise record of income.

Bush earned $3.9 million from four companies alone since 2007, The Associated Press found, plus $25,000 a year more from a medical company in Georgia, $9,600 annually from Bloomberg Philanthropies and zero pay from a drug addiction nonprofit. His earnings from eight other companies are unknown, despite AP requests for the information.

Today’s release could help fill in the gaps of his total earnings from his time on corporate boards.

Until Bush’s disclosure, the only presidential nominees to come close are 1996 Republican nominee Bob Dole, who released 29 years of income tax returns. In 2004, Democratic nominee John Kerry disclosed 20 years of income records.

Bush’s decision to release the information was first published by The Wall Street Journal.