Republican presidential candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have released on Saturday a summary of their recent tax filings. This comes after Donald Trump refused to release the same information, causing his rivals to pressure him as well as other presidential candidates.
In a report by Fox News, Trump noted that he will not be disclosing his tax filings unless the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will finish auditing his returns. A campaign spokesman from Rubio's camp, Alex Conant, said they have released the candidate's tax filing to "put pressure on Trump."
Cruz, on the other hand, said in a statement that Trump not wanting to release his tax filings could be because it will show his "significant contributions to Planned Parenthood," USA Today reported.
Rubio and Cruz, however, released only the first two pages of their filings to the IRS, which is the same move as what Hillary Clinton did back in 2015 and Mitt Romney in 2012. These first two pages show the key details about one's tax filings such as deductions. However, they could release their full tax returns if they would choose to do so. Cruz said that if Rubio would "release the complete thing for the recent years" he will be happy to do the same thing.
Rubio has released portions of his tax return from 2010 to 2014. These documents show that Rubio's income ranged from $276,059 to $938,963 and that he has paid between $46,500 and $254,894 in federal income tax. Most of his income came from his two books entitled "An American Son" and "American Dreams," CNBC reported.
Cruz, on the other hand, released portions of his tax return from 2011 to 2014. Most of his income for 2011 and 2012 came from the law firm Morgan, Lewis and Bockius. His wife's work at Goldman Sachs also contributed to his income.
However, Joseph Thorndike, a tax historian, said that the releases by Rubio and Cruz are "fake transparency." He claimed that every major party candidate since 1976 has fully disclosed their tax returns.
