Bernie Sanders, Now a Millionaire, Pledges to Release Tax Returns by Monday

[brooklynite]

New York Times

WASHINGTON — Senator Bernie Sanders, whose $18 million fund-raising haul has solidified his status as a front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Tuesday that he would release 10 years of tax returns before Tax Day on Monday and acknowledged that he has joined the ranks of the millionaires he has denounced for years.

“April 15 is coming,” Mr. Sanders, whose refusal to release his full past returns has become an issue in the campaign, said in an interview in his office. “We wanted to release 10 years of tax returns. April 15, 2019, will be the 10th year, so I think you will see them.”

Told that he was being compared to President Trump, who has refused to release his tax returns, Mr. Sanders got more specific: “On the day in the very immediate future, certainly before April 15, we release ours, I hope that Donald Trump will do exactly the same. We are going to release 10 years of our tax returns, and we hope that on that day Donald Trump will do the same.”

Mr. Sanders’s refusal to release his full tax returns was a relatively minor issue in the 2016 Democratic primaries, when Hillary Clinton goaded him to be more transparent. But Mr. Trump’s refusal to release his — and the subsequent effort by House Democrats to force the release — have raised the issue’s profile. Mr. Sanders has bristled at comparisons between his behavior and the president’s.

[WeekiWater]

1. "April 15, 2019, will be the 10th year, so I think you will see them."

What does that mean?

[TCJ70]

2. Seems like it'll be 10 years including 2018. n/t

[WeekiWater]

5. I see what you are saying. Thanks. NT

[defacto7]

19. I've been wondering about that 11th year that

will all of a sudden not be part of the 10 year disclosure as of 4/15. I guess it won't matter anymore.

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. I think it is poor wording which won't at all matter if he releases them by April 15

And I think it means that he will. Obviously we will find out, but he is now on record saying ten years of his taxes are about to be released. It will look terrible for him if he is more than a day or two late on that. Actually it will look terrible if he is a single day late, but that will be forgotten if he then quickly follows up with a release. Then attention will turn to the contents instead.

[Tipperary]

22. When you figure out what it means, let me know lol!

[WeekiWater]

23. If I understand correctly, it should have been worded like this.

2018 will be the tenth year I’m releasing.

I’ve never seen him talk like he does when asked about his taxes. He gets extremely nervous and has difficulty speaking in complete sentences. It has happened numerous times.

[KitSileya]

39. One suggestion is he doesn't want to show 2007

Because in the 2006 campaign, Ms. Sanders got kickbacks from ad buys and they were severely criticized for the nepotism of it. They hadn't yet figured out how to run it through Old Towne Media, so the payout went directly to Ms. Sanders. Most of that money would have been paid out in the early months of 2007, since the campaign was late in the year. Releasing the 2007 tax return would bring this out into the open, and draw comparisons to Paul Manafort, who did the same thing in the campaigns he managed (his sums were on steroids compared to Senator Sanders' campaign, but it's an uncomfortable comparison nonetheless.)

[RandySF]

3. Sounds noncommittal.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. "April 15 is coming. We wanted to release 10 years of tax returns. April 15, 2019, will be the 10th

year, so I think you will see them.”

My goodness, he sounds like Trump.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

11. Nah. The tax return "truthers" on the internet will claim they uncovered something shady.

I saw one clown on the internets claim his 2014 return was fraudulent because the wages line didn’t equal the published salary for a US Senator. Totally ignoring the wages Line includes the deduction for employer sponsored retirement contributions reflected on in the W2 wages box.

The same clown claimed he should be taking mandatory retirement distributions therefore the return is fraudulent. Totally ignoring federal employees are exempt from mandatory distributions if they claim for the “still working” option.

[WeekiWater]

18. Did that one even make it to 20 posts? NT

[sheshe2]

31. Nope. nt

[LongtimeAZDem]

14. As I posted elsewhere, the actual content is irrelevant.

[LongtimeAZDem]

17. So much for that

[Cha]

16. BS brought this on himself by saying

he was going to release them "soon" in February.

Bernie Sanders Still Dragging His Feet on Releasing His Tax Returns

In February, Sanders said he’d release a decade of past returns “sooner rather than later.” More recently, he somewhat vaguely pointed to the April 15 federal tax filing deadline and said he’d release the old returns “very shortly” after that.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/sanders-still-dragging-his-feet-on-releasing-his-tax-returns.html

No worries.. BS has plenty to be vetted on besides not releasing his Full Tax Returns when he said he would.

[janterry]

9. Does now a millionaire refer to his personal wealth?

Biden is worth millions. Warren is worth millions. My guess is most of them could come close to - or exceed - a million.

So what?

[WeekiWater]

12. Biden is really close on the million mark.

I don't think his net worth is in the millions. He has made a modest living and his only real money maker has been the release of his last book. It wasn't all that. His pension is pretty sweet as well. It appears Sanders has hit one percenter status on annual earnings for a couple of years. We will find out.

[Cha]

25. Where do you get "Biden is worth millions.."?

[janterry]

34. The book deal is worth 8 million

Though my point isn't that it's a problem. I don't see it as a problem. I'm just pointing out that most high powered career folks have some wealth.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

29. It wouldn't be at all unusual for someone in their 70s who has had a professional career

for decades, to have a net worth of $1M or more, especially if real estate is included. A lot of financial analysts think a middle-class couple will need that much for a comfortable, not lavish, retirement. I'm not about to hate on anybody who has accumulated a decent nest-egg if they did it honestly and aren't hiding anything dodgy.

[janterry]

32. Yes, exactly

Kamala Harris has more than a million in wealth. It's just not that unusual.

[BlueFlorida]

10. We shall see won't we?

Now .. if we suddenly find him filing as "married filing separately" we would know where the hidden stuff is.

[Amimnoch]

13. yeah.. he's been soooo forthcoming with them so far after all..

[rgbecker]

20. Where will we turn?

I hope the tax people on the forum are ready as Bernie's returns will be released in a few. When they are out, his candidacy will surely end and all his supporters will be looking for another to support. I hope those who have been telling us that Sanders is somehow lying to us can come together in support of one candidate, yet I am skeptical. Those who have been bashing Sanders seem to be mainly united only by their dislike of Sanders rather than any particular policy. In fact, the less talk about policy the better.

When Sanders drops out, millions of dollars in donations will be freed up for other candidates, but where will his supporters turn? Will those who have had problems with Sanders find someone in common?

I hope to see some unity behind someone who has nothing to hide soon.

[Autumn]

21. What do you think his tax returns will reveal? We know he's a millionaire, I'm happy to say I

bought two of his books so that won't bother me. The only reason I will drop my support for him is if there is a W-2 from the Trump foundation.

[Cha]

38. BS talking about himself here..

[Autumn]

40. Want to tell me what's wrong with that? We do have more people living in poverty than ever.

[Go Vols]

47. +1

[Cha]

48. When BS releases his Full Tax Returns

he'll have to drop the " Increase in Millionaires" from his Rhetoric.

[Autumn]

49. Why? I've never thought he was against millionaires. I think the problem he has with them

is that they don't pay their fair share or give back. I don't think Bill and Hillary, Feinstein, Bernie or any of the millionaires on our side are against paying their share and they still point out wealth inequality and actively try to level the field.

[Cha]

51. BS has been haranguing on "Millionaires"

until he's one. He's not "comfortable" until he's comfortable.

I take it he will drop that from his Rhetoric?

[Autumn]

54. I don't write his speeches so I have no idea. I don't think he will and see no reason why he should.

[Agschmid]

24. To be fair "not liking" someone is a valid reason for not supporting a candidate.

At least IMO.

[rgbecker]

37. Good point but who is going to get Sander's supporters?

We are talking a million donors and millions of dollars. They are going to be looking for someone to take his place. Big crowd on DU are all over him about the tax thing and a lot just "Don't like him" but they have yet to bring it on with a replacement for him.

[Loki Liesmith]

26. Why would his campaign end?

Because he’s rich?

[rgbecker]

36. There must be something in those returns that is not good.

Why is everybody so on him about the returns unless they think he is up to no good?

Maybe he doesn't give any money to charities....would that be the deal ender?

[katmondoo]

27. Tell us what you have done in the last 30 years compared to Hillary

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. Being a millionaire isn't as big a deal these days as it used to be.

A person in his 70s who's had a professional career for decades (and who also has a professional spouse) very well could have a net worth of $1M or more, especially if you include their home or other real estate. If he's been sitting on his tax returns all this time just to conceal from the Purity Brigade the fact that he's got a few bucks, that's pretty silly.

[Autumn]

30. His book sales, both books did pretty well. nt

[Kurt V.]

33. frankly scarlet

[Cha]

35. BS on "Millionaires and Billionaires"..

[TCJ70]

45. And then advocated for higher taxes on...himself. That's not a strike against him...n/t

[Cha]

50. BS isn't comfortable with "an increase

in Millionaires". When he finally releases his Full Tax Returns.. he'll have to drop "millionaires" from his Rhetoric.

[SidDithers]

41. Bernie, his surrogates and supporters vilified Hillary...

for the money she made from speaking fees. Now it comes out that he was cashing in on his own from book sales. Does anyone believe for a second that he wouldn’t also have been pulling huge $$ from speaking fees if he wasn’t a sitting Senator?

He showed that he’s got no problem earning millions, yet spent much of 2015 and 2016 castigating others for doing exactly that.

There’s a word for that, isn’t there?

Sid

[LongtimeAZDem]

44. +1

[dogman]

61. Be real, it was the source of the money that was questioned.

2016 has past and you want to keep dragging this garbage? There's a word for that too.

[Blue_Tires]

42. Well at least we now officially know why he's been stalling 3+ years

Link to tweet

[spooky3]

55. Agree. Nt

[Nanjeanne]

43. "Now a millionaire" is that something bad? Sanders doesn't have a problem with

millionaires or billionaires as long as they pay their fair share of taxes. So he is advocating for higher taxes for himself as well.

Becoming a billionaire by depriving people of healthcare is immoral to me. Becoming a billionaire by conning poor and middle class people into risky Wall Street speculation is immoral to me. Did you know that WS bonuses were double the combined earnings of all 895,000 full-time minimum wage workers in the country.

According to IPS, the bonus pool was enough to offer a $15 an hour wage to any of the three following groups in the country:

2.6 million restaurant wait staff and bartenders $15 an hour
1.6 million home healthcare and personal care aides
2.6 million fast food workers

That’s immoral to me. During the Eisenhower years, people were still millionaires. We just didn’t have as many billionaires and income equality wasn’t as insane as it is now.

It’s so disingenuous to imply because Sanders sold books and is now a millionaire he somehow is against people earning money. Just pay higher taxes, fund policies to increase living standard of the working poor and middle class and enjoy your life!

[Cha]

56. No it's not "bad" BS was the one haranguing on "Millionaires".

[TheFarseer]

46. He's a millionaire

Is such a weak smear. FDR was our richest president-what a douchebag he was!

[Cha]

53. It's not the "millionaire" part.. I don't care if

anyone is a millionaire or a billionaire for that matter.

It's the hypocrisy..

[redstateblues]

57. Sure. Why can't poor people write best selling books?

That will fix everything.

[Cha]

58. "Pull themselves up by

their book royalties"

[TheFarseer]

59. He has a good job

If he wasn’t a millionaire by now, he’s just terrible with money. He wants to raise his own taxes and have free college to fight income inequality.

Is it hypocritical to not smoke pot but want legalized marijuana? Or be straight but pro-gay marriage?

[Cha]

60. I do not give one toss that BS is a millionaire.

[BlueFlorida]

52. Yeah ... he now rails only against billionaires

[dalton99a]

62. +1