Republican Tom Foley shared summaries of federal tax returns Friday that showed business losses and alimony left the Greenwich businessman and gubernatorial nominee with no taxable income in 2011 and an adjusted gross of $20,462 in 2012.
On a day when Democrats aired a new TV ad about his wealth, it was disclosed that the last year in which Foley’s reported income exceeded $1 million was 2010, when he spent $11 million self-funding his first run for governor, a race he narrowly lost to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
Foley allowed reporters to inspect the summary pages of his federal tax returns for 2010, 2011 and 2012 in the conference room of a downtown Hartford law firm. No return was available for 2013, because Foley has obtained a filing extension, his campaign said.
Nine days ago, Malloy gave reporters copies of summaries of the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 returns he filed jointly with his wife to the IRS and state Department of Revenue Services. Their joint income exceeded $300,000 in three of the four years and their effective federal tax rate ranged from a low of 21 percent to a high of 38 percent.
Malloy’s salary as governor is $150,000. He took office in January 2011. In 2010, the year after he left office as mayor, he was paid $143,333 as a consultant to a New York financial firm, Class Green Capital.
His wife, Cathy, works full-time.
Foley is married, but he filed separately.
In 2010, Foley paid $278,034 in taxes on taxable income of $876,530, for an effective tax rate of 32 percent. His total income of $1.1 million came primarily from taxable interest of $765,572.
By 2012, his taxable interest income fell to $149,227, which was offset by $79,128 in alimony and about $60,000 in business losses. He paid $8,393 in taxes on an adjusted gross of little more than $20,000. In 2011, his adjusted gross was negative $65,705 and he reported capital losses of $2.8 million.
Democrats made an issue of the manner in which Foley provided access to his tax records, making a video recording of Democratic State Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo attempting to inspect the records “as a citizen.”
Linda McMahon, who spent $50 million on each of her two U.S. Senate races, provided reporters with copies of her tax returns. But others have only allowed an inspection, without providing copies, including Ned Lamont and Joseph I. Lieberman in their 2006 race for U.S. Senate.
Lamont provided access to his full return. His accountant was available to answer questions.
Mark McNulty, a campaign spokesman, said the inspection-only approach was the candidate’s “personal preference.”
Foley’s returns provided little insight into his business dealings, which have been the subject of several commercials, including one released Friday that opens with a picture of Foley’s yacht as a narrator says, “For 30 years, Tom Foley’s gotten rich while hurting working people.”
Foley, 62, owns NTC Group, a private investment company whose major remaining holding is Stevens Aviation, an aircraft maintenance and sales company with facilities at five airports. He reported taking no salary, but Stevens produced other income ranging from $6,636 to $41,388 over the three years.
After spending $11 million of his own funds on the 2010 campaign, Foley qualified in 2014 for nearly $8 million in public financing: $1,354,250 for the primary and $6,500,400 for the general election.
McNulty had no comment on the extent of Foley’s wealth or his net worth. Congressional candidates file financial disclosure statements identifying stock holdings and, within broad ranges, their approximate value. Connecticut has no such requirement for state candidates.
If elected, Foley would have to file a statement of financial interest required annually of all state office holders and certain other state officials. They must list sources of income in excess of $1,000, though not amounts. They also have to disclose securities worth more than $5,000, though not numbers of shares. And they must list real estate, state contracts and business affiliations.