Tommy Thompson says you should just trust him.
Former Wisconsin governor and current Republican Senate candidate Tommy Thompson got very, very wealthy as a lobbyist after he served as Wisconsin's governor and as Health and Human Services secretary under George W. Bush. How wealthy? Nobody but Thompson and his accountant know for sure. Just like Mitt Romney, he doesn't think "you people"
deserve to know.
[A]t an event later on Wednesday at Husco International Inc. in Waukesha, Thompson was adamant. "When I was governor and I was employed by the people of the state of Wisconsin, I released my tax returns," he said.
"But I have been in the business world and the question is, 'Am I going to release my tax returns?' The answer is no."
But, again like Romney, he wants you to know that he's personally reviewed his taxes and has indeed paid some. But (and where have we heard this before?) you're just going to have to
trust him on that.
"I pay 31 percent of my gross revenue into taxes. That's much more than Congresswoman Baldwin is," Thompson said on "Upfront with Mike Gousha" on WISN-TV (Channel 12) in Milwaukee.
"That is what I pay. That's what I paid this year, that's what I paid last year and that's a higher percentage than Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and Congresswoman Baldwin. I'm the highest and I think that's enough. I can put it out there and show everybody that I paid 31 percent of my gross income to taxes. That's a lot of money."
Thompson did not provide proof of the 31 percent and repeated he would not release his returns.
He did not "put it out there and show everybody" by providing his tax returns. He just told Wisconsin voters that they just have to trust him, apparently the standard answer for millionaires on their taxes.
On the other hand, Democrat Tammy Baldwin released 10 years of her tax returns back in May, demonstrating that she's paid an effective tax rate of about 20 percent. Baldwin, obviously, has nothing to hide. So what's in Thompson's tax returns that he's so reluctant to share?
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