Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-V.T., who recently entered the 2020 Democratic presidential race, vowed in an interview on Tuesday with The New York Times to release ten years of tax returns by Apr. 15, Tax Day.
By: Harry Cherry
“April 15 is coming,” Mr. Sanders told The Times. “We wanted to release 10 years of tax returns. April 15, 2019, will be the 10th year, so I think you will see them.”
When asked if his refusal thus far to release his tax returns was a display of hypocrisy, Mr. Sanders told Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a New York Times correspondent based in Washington, that he will release his returns “before April 15.”
“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,” he said to Mrs. Stolberg. “We are going to release 10 years of our tax returns, and we hope that on that day Donald Trump will do the same.”
“Not being a billionaire, not having investments in Saudi Arabia, wherever he has investments, all over the world, mine will be a little bit more boring,” Mr. Sanders added.
Mrs. Stolberg reminded Mr. Sanders that he is a millionaire, prompting him to respond. “I wrote a best-selling book,” he proclaimed. “If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.”
Various 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls have already released their tax returns, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN), and Gov. Jay Inslee (WA). Sen. Warren, D-MA, released 10 years of tax returns, while Sen. Gillibrand has released 12 years worth of returns.
Senator Sanders, who has repeatedly slammed “millionaires” and “billionaires” and has vowed to implement various Socialist policies such as wealth distribution, government-run healthcare, and more, is one of the wealthiest members of the United States Senate. Mr. Sanders made an income of over $885,000 in fiscal year 2017, according to his most recent Senate financial disclosure forms.
Mr. Sanders raised over $18 million dollars in the first month and a half of his presidential campaign, Faiz Shakir, his campaign manager said last week. Mr. Shakir announced that Mr. Sanders received almost 900,000 donations from 525,000 different people.
“There is zero question now that Bernie will be able to build a very strong and formidable campaign operation,” Mo Elleithee, Executive Director of Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service, told The Times in a statement. “What will be interesting is: Is this sustainable as other candidates get better known?”
Mr. Sanders reintroduced his Medicare-for-all proposal on Wednesday in the United States Senate.
“In my view, the current debate over Medicare for All really has nothing to do with health care. It’s all about greed and profiteering. It is about whether we maintain a dysfunctional system which allows the top five health insurance companies to make over $20 billion in profits last year,” Mr. Sanders said Wednesday in a statement. “The American people are increasingly clear. They want a health care system which guarantees health care to all Americans as a right.”
“The Medicare for All Act of 2019 would ensure that Americans could go to the doctor of their choice and get the care they need, when they need it, without going into debt,” Mr. Sanders added. “It would significantly lower the price of prescription drugs by empowering the federal government to negotiate with pharmaceutical corporations.”
