Wednesday, May 5, 2004
Pressure Building on Sen. Kerry to Release Wife's Tax Returns
Wednesday, May 5, 2004
Pressure is building on Sen. Kerry to release his wife's tax returns. The Weekly Standard notes, in a story titled Sugar Mommy, that Sen. Kerry is turning himself into Geraldine Ferraro, Walter Mondale's running mate who ran aground amidst questions about her husband John Zaccaro's finances. With the New York Times (here and here) calling for the release of Teresa Heinz Kerry's tax returns, and Sen. Kerry's continued dissembling on the issue (e.g., telling Tim Russert on Meet the Press that presidential candidates are required by law to release their tax returns (not true) and that his wife's refusal to release her tax returns was no big deal because the information is contained in Senate ethcis forms, which are "far more intrusive" than at the time of the Ferraro-Zaccaro flap 28 years ago (also not true), the pressure to release the returns is likely to build in the coming days.
The Weekly Standard speculates that Sen. Kerry is reluctant to release his wife's tax returns to avoid embarassing revelations on several fronts:
• He is a "kept man," whose campaigns in the past have been indirectly funded by his wife (e.g., by borrowing on sweatheart terms against his 1/2 share of a Beacon Hill townhouse given to him by his wife).
• Contrary to his populist rhetoric, his wife's $550 million fortune funds his lavish lifetsyle, complete with palatial homes in Nantucket, Idaho, and Georgetown (as well as Boston and Pittsburgh), along with a Gulfstream jet.
• His wife's contributions to various left-wing organizations.
Thanks to TaxGuru for the tip.
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2004/05/pressure_buildi.html
Comments
You don't need to see his tax returns to know than John Forbes Kerry is a kept man. He's married twice, first to the very wealthy Julia Thorne before marrying the even more wealthy Theresa Heinz.
Posted by: Tom | May 8, 2004 4:41:39 PM
It's an interesting problem. I'm not sure the "pressure" will be overwhelming if he sticks it out. After the errors already noted in his 2003 return, he's probably reluctant to see what embarrassments await in her much larger return.
He probably will find a way to put them out. If he's smart, they come out at 4:30 pm the Friday before Memorial Day.
Posted by: Joe Kristan | May 5, 2004 11:41:05 AM
You little people are such fools. That is why you refuse to bow when I speak. You will get yours, you idiots. John & I know what is best for you peasants even though you do not. We long so for the good days, the European days of elegance when royalty was respected. Ants!!! Insects!!! Middle class riff-raff. You make fun of us because we do not pay taxes on my $3.2 billion in assets. You make fun of us because we pay the bare minimum of 0.983% in taxes on my $80M/yr income while I support a 30% tax on any family earning over $100,000. You ignorant scum. I suport the outsourcing of all the Heinz manufacturing plants and their thousands of jobs so that my income will grow even more while my husband tells you about all the bad outsourcing plotted by evil US corporations. Worship me and my waned beauty or I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!
Posted by: Big mama T | Sep 28, 2004 11:28:56 AM