“The answer is no. The answer is N-O. What part don’t you understand?”
On the first day of his general election campaign for the U.S. Senate, former Bush Administration Cabinet Secretary and Washington D.C. insider, Tommy Thompson, vowed to continue keeping his tax returns a secret from the voters of Wisconsin.
Yesterday, at a press conference in Milwaukee, Thompson was rattled by questions from reporters about a challenge from Tammy Baldwin for Thompson to release 10 years of his state and federal tax returns.
When asked by the media if he would release 10 years of state and federal tax returns, a testy Thompson said:
“The answer is no. The answer is no N-O. What part don’t you understand?”
After serving in the Bush Administration, Thompson joined one of Washington’s most influential law firms and got rich working for lobbyists on behalf of drug companies, insurance companies and the oil industry. It has been previously reported that Thompson’s net worth was roughly $13 million, and that he earned more than $5 million in income since the beginning of 2010.
“Thompson has been cashing in and playing the Washington game, working for special interests that want to write their own rules. Now he wants to keep his tax returns a secret. Wisconsin voters deserve to know what he is hiding,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said Thursday. “It’s clear, Thompson is keeping tax returns a secret because he will cut taxes for millionaires like himself and Mitt Romney.”
In May, Baldwin released 10 years of state and federal tax returns and challenged all of the Republican Senate primary hopefuls to follow her lead and do the same. In Congress, Baldwin has a record of fighting for tax breaks for the middle class and small businesses to grow our economy and create jobs. She is also the lead sponsor of legislation that requires people with incomes over a million dollars a year to pay their fair share in taxes.
“Multimillionaires like Tommy Thompson and Mitt Romney will cut taxes for millionaires like themselves and increase taxes for Wisconsin’s middle class,” Tate said. “They are both keeping their tax returns a secret because they don’t want voters to know how they would benefit from their own plans while they stick it to the middle class.”
