HARRISBURG, PA – The Corbett Campaign today called on former Governor Ed Rendell to assist in getting the Democratic gubernatorial candidates to release their tax returns for the past 10 years. Just yesterday, Corbett was the first candidate to make 10 years of tax returns publicly available. In 2012, Rendell was passionate about the need for candidates for office to release their tax returns for a prolonged period of time, stating that it has become “common place in American politics.”

“Governor Ed Rendell spoke with passion two years ago when he called for the long term release of tax returns for Mitt Romney, so it is only appropriate that he convey that message once again to the Democratic candidates for Governor who have refused to release their tax returns for the past 10 years,” stated Corbett campaign manager Mike Barley. “What do these Democratic candidates have to hide? Governor Rendell put it best when he said that the long term release of tax returns is a basic elemental thing we do. And as the Governor said, people want to know if American politicians pay their taxes like everybody else.”

The Corbett campaign also called on the Democratic Party and Governor Rendell to condemn the extremely low tax rate that millionaire Secretary Tom Wolf has paid in taxes, which averages out to 8.73 percent for years 2010, 2011 and 2012. By contrast, Governor Tom Corbett paid an average of 16.5 percent over the same period of time. Rendell criticized Mitt Romney in 2012 for paying “at the low end of the spectrum” at 14 percent.

“Governor Rendell and the Democratic Party beat up Mitt Romney for paying a 14 percent tax rate, so I would only expect that they would join us in criticizing millionaire Secretary Tom Wolf for paying nearly half of that,” added Barley. “How did he get to that tax rate? The people of Pennsylvania deserve to know who the real Tom Wolf is and that will require him to be open and transparent about his campaign loans and questionable business practices.”

Wolf has not yet released more than three years of tax returns or corporate tax returns. Yesterday, he indicated that he would not do so, which directly contradicts his previous comments. In February, Wolf expressed his willingness to release his personal and corporate tax returns, stating at the WHYY Newsworks and the Philadelphia Business Journal 2014 Gubernatorial Forum, “I’ll share whatever people like you want me to share, my personal tax returns, and the company information.” He also added, “I’ll be happy to share whatever anybody wants to see, that’s been my practice throughout my business career.”

More information on Governor Corbett’s 10 years of publicly-released tax returns can be found HERE.

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