On Friday afternoon, just in time for the traditional news dump that takes place around that time -- especially just before a three-day weekend -- the McCain campaign released the two summary pages from Cindy McCain's 2006 tax return. Her husband, John McCain, released his most recent tax return in April, but because the two file separately and most of the family's assets are held by Cindy McCain, the refusal to release her returns had become an issue. Earlier this month, she'd said she would never release them, even if her husband was elected president.
According to the available information, Cindy McCain had an income of more than $6 million in 2006; she paid about $1.7 million in taxes. The campaign told the Associated Press that she recieved an extension on her 2007 return, and promised that it will be disclosed once it's filed.
The Politico's Jonathan Martin reports that, asked for the reason behind the reversal on the returns, a campaign aide said Cindy McCain "decided to make this information available, despite her concerns about protecting her personal privacy and that of her children, because she did not want the release of her personal tax returns to become a distraction from the real issues of this campaign."
The Democratic National Committee criticized the nature of the release. "It is laughable for the campaign to release so little information and say they are being transparent," DNC Communications Director Karen Finney said.
The summary pages can be downloaded in PDF form here.
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