Gov. Dannel P. Malloy challenged Republican Tom Foley and reporters Monday over Foley’s refusal to disclose his state tax returns, suggesting the Greenwich businessman may be hiding income from an out-of-state company or a yacht he docks in Florida.
And the press was letting him get away with it.
“Is he paying taxes in other states? Did he have boat income in Florida, for instance, that has him paying taxes there?” Malloy said. “Is he recognizing wages in another state other than Connecticut, although we know that he spends almost all of his time running his company from Connecticut? What is he hiding? What is he hiding?”
Malloy’s digs at Foley and reporters, whom he accused of going easy on his GOP challenger, provided an unexpected sour note at the close of a celebratory press conference called to discuss Connecticut’s best monthly jobs report in 20 years.
“Listen, I’m not trying to do your job for anybody,” Malloy said. “If I refused to release my taxes, you’d be all over me. You would be all over me. And yet, this guy says, ‘I’m not going to do it,’ and everyone says, ‘OK, well, it’s Tom. OK, we’re not going to push too hard.’ ”
Foley declined to answer questions about his state tax returns.
“Once again the governor is coming unhinged,” Foley said. “He’s talking about things that have nothing to do with Connecticut’s future.”
Malloy has provided reporters with copies of the summary pages of his state and federal tax returns. Foley has refused to provide copies, but he allowed reporters to examine the summary pages of his returns, which showed that deductions on business losses allowed him to pay no federal taxes in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
“Tom Foley’s got things that he’s trying to hide and, quite frankly, getting away with it pretty well,” Malloy said. “To say to the people of the state of Connecticut, ‘I am running to be your governor, but I am not going to release my state tax return’ is hubris. It is unacceptable. And he’s just trying to run out the clock.”
Democrats held a conference call with reporters Sunday covering similar ground, pressing Foley to release full returns that would provide details on his business losses. They also questioned why Foley’s home address was redacted.
(Foley’s spokesman told The Mirror in an email late Sunday night that the address used was the office of the firm that prepared the returns. He did not elaborate why that was the case.)
Malloy also has declined to release his full returns.
“For most of the time you’ve known me, my wife and I had have only had our pay. Pretty simple,” Malloy said.
Their other source of income was from renting their home in Stamford until they could sell it.
“Tell you what,” Malloy told reporters, “I’ll make you a deal: You get Tom’s full return, and I’ll release my full returns.”