For the past forty years, every major party nominee for president has voluntarily disclosed his or her tax returns – until the 2016 election. There is no law requiring candidates to disclose their tax returns, but every single nominee other than Donald Trump has followed this customary norm so that voters can have a clear understanding of the financial interests and possible entanglements of the men and women seeking our nation’s highest office.
The need to address presidential tax transparency has never been more clear. We can no longer count on tradition to ensure even basic transparency such as this. It is clear that there is overwhelming support for presidential tax transparency. In January of 2017, an ABC/ Washington Post poll found that 74 percent of Americans believe that presidential candidates should release their tax returns.
Bills have been introduced into both the Vermont House and Senate that would require presidential candidates to release their previous five years of tax returns in order to appear on the Vermont ballot. VPIRG supports these bills because Vermonters deserve basic transparency from our elected officials – especially those who seek our nation’s highest office.
Sign our petition telling Vermont lawmakers to require presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns before appearing on the Vermont ballot.
Latest Elections & Government Reform News
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According to a new poll released Tuesday, Vermont voters are overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the practice of mailing a ballot to every voter, a policy that was put in place by state leaders on a temporary basis last year. The poll, conducted by the independent firm Lincoln Park Strategies on behalf of the nonprofit organizations ...
Read MoreYES on 4: Better Ballot Burlington – A fun, informative virtual event

This past week, VPIRG’s own Kate Lapp joined former Gov. Howard Dean, Councilor Zoraya Hightower, Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s, Rob Richie of FairVote, and Anna Kellar of the Maine League of Women Voters for a fun, informative virtual event on ranked choice voting. Catch this replay of the event! Featured are remarks from expert ...
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At VPIRG, we’re not generally in the business of urging people not to demonstrate or protest peacefully. These are time-honored tactics by which we make our voices heard and show the breadth of support for our campaigns. In fact, the day after the election in November we co-sponsored a State House rally aimed at making ...
Read MoreJoin Us in Supporting Gov. Scott’s Call for Trump’s Resignation or Removal

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Read MoreAn Historic Election

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Read MoreWe Want to Hear Your Thoughts on Vote-by-Mail

As we collectively catch our breath (and breathe a sigh of relief!) following the election, we have a lot to be proud of as Vermonters. More than 365,000 Vermonters participated in the 2020 Vermont general election, blowing away the previous record by more than 40,000 votes. This record-breaking turnout is due to a variety of factors – ...
Read MoreGray, Pearce Commit to Supporting Popular Vote Winners

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