Kaine implies taxes show Trump's 'stingy'

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine greets a customer Saturday at the Bridge Cafe in Manchester, N.H., while campaigning with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine greets a customer Saturday at the Bridge Cafe in Manchester, N.H., while campaigning with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, used a speech Saturday in New Hampshire to lambaste Donald Trump for his continued refusal to release his tax returns, suggesting the Republican presidential nominee was trying to hide a "stingy" history of charitable giving and questioning his commitment to the military.

photo

Dayton Daily News via AP

Republican vice presidential candidate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence attends a campaign stop in Dayton, Ohio, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016.

"He's bragged about using every trick and artifice he can to pay no taxes," Kaine, a U.S. senator from Virginia, said of Trump. "We pay taxes to support the military. ... If you haven't been supporting the military during your entire life, don't tell me you'll suddenly start if you get to be commander in chief. I don't believe that for a minute."

Kaine's broadside, during a rally at St. Anselm College in Manchester, came a day after Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton voluntarily released her latest tax return and Kaine made public the past 10 that he and his wife have filed.

Trump, whose business interests include real estate and an array of other ventures, has said he will not release his tax returns because of an ongoing audit. During his campaign, Trump has cast himself as a much stronger advocate of the military than Clinton.

Although there is no legal requirement for presidential contenders to release their tax returns, Kaine said every major-party candidate has done so since President Richard Nixon, someone Kaine said "was not known for the most elevated ethical standards."

"Everybody's done it," Kaine said. "Trump is not doing it. He says the rules that apply to everybody else do not apply to Donald J. Trump."

"What doesn't he want to show?" Kaine asked his audience. "You know, he brags about all this stuff he's done for charity, but there's been some good articles to suggest that's all brags, and it's not really backed up."

Kaine mentioned several stories that have appeared in The Washington Post, including one that detailed a promised $1 million personal contribution from Trump to a veterans charity that was not delivered until four months later, amid intense media scrutiny.

"We might find that this generosity that he's claiming is just smoke and mirrors," Kaine said. "I think that's probably the case."

Kaine also attacked Trump for past suggestions that as a business executive, he has used "every trick and dodge he can" to lower the taxes he owes. Kaine argued doing so amounts to shirking one's duty to support the military and funding for veterans programs.

"There's a guy who's trying to dodge supporting our veterans," Kaine said of Trump. "He's not going to be a president for the veterans, because he hasn't cared about the veterans in his life."

Meanwhile, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, the Republican vice presidential nominee, suggested that he might release his tax returns before Election Day.

On Saturday morning, at a campaign stop in his hometown, Columbus, Ind., Pence ignored questions from reporters about whether he would release his returns. But in an interview with Rita Cosby of WABC Radio that aired Saturday, he hinted that his returns could become public.

"When my forms are filed and when my tax returns are released it's going to be a quick read, Rita," Pence said.

His answer suggested he had not yet filed his 2015 return; the Internal Revenue Service allows taxpayers to apply for a six-month extension from the April filing deadline. His campaign did not respond Saturday evening to requests for more details.

Pence spent the day campaigning alongside Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb, who is running to replace Pence as governor.

The tax returns released by the Democrats on Friday showed that Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, earned $10.7 million last year.

In 2015, Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, reported $313,441 in total income, the vast majority of that coming from their respective salaries: Kaine as a senator and Holton as Virginia's secretary of education.

During the past 10 years, they gave a minimum of $11,209 to charity, with the amount exceeding $20,000 in four of those years, according to the returns.

While in New Hampshire on Saturday, Kaine also met briefly with the parents of slain journalist James Foley. An aide said Kaine ran into Diane and John Foley in a hotel lobby and talked for several minutes about a foundation they have started.

James Foley was beheaded in 2014 by the Islamic State militant group, which posted a video of the killing afterward.

Information for this article was contributed by Yamiche Alcindor of The New York Times.

A Section on 08/14/2016

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