Jeb Bush may release a decade’s worth of tax returns, according to a new report, a move that could help assuage concerns within the GOP that his financial dealings would leave him vulnerable in a presidential campaign.
The 10-year release, which Politico’s Ben White reports the Bush camp is considering, would set an early bar on transparency for the rest of the field to clear.
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Mitt Romney, the party’s 2012 nominee, was pilloried by his Republican rivals and President Obama for releasing only two years of returns. Bush could potentially ease concerns that he has similar electability problems by breaking from Romney's approach and doing so early. Hillary Clinton, the undeclared Democratic frontrunner, released her family’s returns during her 2008 presidential run and would be expected to do the same for all intervening years if she runs.
Bush announced he was “actively exploring” a presidential run in December shortly after a Bloomberg article on his finance career raised questions about whether the former Florida governor was willing to open himself up the intense scrutiny demanded by a campaign, including revealing his foreign investors. In recent weeks Bush has resigned from his corporate and nonprofit board positions and left a position at Barclays bank, a set of moves that suggests he’s gearing up for a national run.
A spokeswoman for Bush did not immediately return a request for comment.