What Tom Reilly made

Published Apr 07 2006, 04:48 PM by Adam Reilly

Because the people want to know: $158,248 in 2005,* with $35,280 paid in federal and state taxes.

Quoth Reilly, in a press release his campaign sent out today: "It's pretty simple - this is a question of being open and honest with voters. People deserve to know where our money comes from, what our financial interests are, and what potential conflicts we may have as Governor."

Of course, it's not that simple. The truth is, I agree with Reilly: voters deserve that info. But Reilly doesn't just want transparency; he wants to show that, unlike his opponents, he's a Regular Guy. Which makes his pious statements about full disclosure a little hard to take.

Here's the full text of the release:

Reilly Releases 2005 Tax Returns

Attorney General and Gubernatorial candidate Tom Reilly today released his federal and state income tax returns for 2005.

Reilly, who filed his returns jointly with his wife, Ruth, a former Belmont public school teacher, has previously released his returns for the years 2002-2004, his current term as Attorney General. He has called on all other candidates for Governor to release their tax returns as well. To date, no other candidates have done so.

According to the documents, the Reillys' combined annual income for 2005 was $158, 248. They paid $35,280 in state and federal taxes, or 22.3 percent of their yearly income.

"It's pretty simple - this is a question of being open and honest with voters," Reilly said. "People deserve to know where our money comes from, what our financial interests are, and what potential conflicts we may have as Governor."

The release of tax returns has been a basic standard of openness for state and federal candidates of all parties. Every Democratic gubernatorial candidate released his or her tax returns in 2002. Massachusetts Republican Governors William Weld and Paul Cellucci released their income tax returns, as has President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

NOTE: That's Reilly and the missus, FYI.