Of the six frontrunners for the Democratic and Republican party nominations for president, only Barack Obama is agreeing to release his tax returns to the public, ABC News is reporting.
Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Edwards and Republicans Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney aren’t releasing them, at least yet, the news station reported.
“It’s very unusual,” Mary Boyle of the good government group Common Cause told ABC News. “For the past almost 35 years, it has been tradition most certainly in the White House as well as almost every presidential candidate to disclose their tax returns – and for some reason we’re not seeing it this year.”
Obama said it was important to release his tax returns.
“I think it’s critical that people know who their candidates are, what our sources of income are, whether we have any potential conflicts,” Obama told ABC News on Monday. “It’s just a matter of transparency, accountability and good government. It is something I’ve done throughout my political career.”
I agree. I asked the campaign of Gov. Bill Richardson on Wednesday, after I saw the ABC News article, whether it would release the governor’s tax returns, and I requested a copy.
I’ve received no response.