Bernie Sanders Promises to Release Tax Returns Soon

2 minute read
By Maya Rhodan

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders pledged to make his tax returns public soon at a Democratic debate Thursday night.

“We’ll get our tax returns out. We’ve been busy; you might have noticed,” Sanders said Thursday.

Sanders has insisted, and reiterated on Thursday, that his wife Jane is responsible for the taxes in their household. The Vermont Senator, whose campaign has hinged on his promise to curb on corporate creed, also said Thursday he is one of the “poorer” members of the Senate and therefore his tax returns will not say much.

A ranking of the wealth of members of Congress based on official disclosure forms in October by the Washington-based newspaper Roll Call placed Sanders as No. 340, with a minimum net worth of $163,000:

Sanders’ personal finances befit his populist economic message. The only wealth he lists in his own name is an approximately $5,000 pension from the city Burlington, where he was mayor during the 1980s. All of his assets — mostly mutual funds — are held by his wife, the former president of Burlington College.

The Senator has repeatedly dodged the release of his returns. In a recent interview, Jane said that the couple had released their full returns for the past several years. A fact check from the Washington Post found that statement to be untrue.

The topic of Sanders’ tax returns came up Thursday after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was pressed about releasing the transcripts from high paid speeches she delivered to major financial institutions.

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com