WASHINGTON—Vice President Mike Pence has filed three tax returns since taking office, but he hasn’t publicly released any of them.
As Democrats fight with President Trump about his unreleased tax returns amid a key deadline Tuesday, the vice president’s decision to keep his own recent tax documents under wraps has gotten far less attention. It is just as much of a break from his predecessors: Going back to Walter Mondale in the 1970s, all have disclosed their returns. Mr. Pence released 10 years of returns through 2015 during the presidential campaign.
Mr. Pence’s office has said that he is following Mr. Trump’s lead by refusing to release returns until audits are finished and has repeatedly declined to answer questions about the status of the audits. A spokeswoman said Monday Mr. Pence plans to release all tax returns before the 2020 election, provided they are no longer under audit.
Many Democratic presidential candidates are offering a contrast to Messrs. Trump and Pence by releasing their own returns. Several, including Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gillibrand, revealed the 2018 returns they just filed. Beto O’Rourke’s campaign released 10 years of tax returns and said he would show his 2018 return once it is filed. Other Democrats, such as Pete Buttigieg, John Hickenlooper and Cory Booker, haven’t released returns during their campaigns.
An expanded version of this story appears on WSJ.com
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