Chicago Sun-Times Editorial: Brady's tax secrecy makes voters wonder

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial: Brady's tax secrecy makes voters wonder
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times
April 25, 2010
http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2196308,CST-EDT-edit25a.article


Releasing income tax returns has become a standard practice for Illinois governors. Gov. Quinn and his running mate Sheila Simon did so on Tuesday. Even Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan made their taxes returns public when they were in office.
So it's hard to understand why Bill Brady, the GOP candidate for governor, is having such a tough time with the concept. If he's elected, we hope he won't be so secretive about other matters.

At first Brady said he wouldn't release his tax forms because he did just that four years ago, when he first ran for governor, and it hurt his business interests.

"I don't feel there's any reason to do it," Brady said.

But when Quinn called him on it, Brady suddenly found a reason.

Instead of releasing his tax forms in the usual way and putting the matter to rest, however, Brady on Friday made just a few copies of the hefty filings available to reporters for a mere three hours at his Springfield campaign offices. And nobody was allowed to make copies.

Brady's wealthy running mate, Republican lieutenant governor candidate Jason Plummer, has released nothing.

Reporters who did get a look at Brady's returns noticed that he paid no federal taxes on a reported income of nearly $120,000 in 2009. In a related news release, he also revealed he had paid no taxes for 2008, when he reported a business loss, and paid only $1,228 in taxes for 2006 on an adjusted gross income of $130,326.

Well, so what.

We can't see why anybody should pay a dime more in taxes than the law demands. And Brady, like the rest of us, would be a fool not to take every deduction allowed.

But enough with the secrecy.

This is Illinois, where governors go to prison the way geese fly south.

There is, in fact, something to be gained by releasing tax forms in an open manner: a bit of reassurance to the voters.