Ned Lamont, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, released tax documents Friday showing an average adjusted gross income of $3.6 million in each of the past five years, primarily in investment income.
Over the five years, Lamont paid a total of $1.3 million in state income taxes and $3.5 million in federal income taxes on an adjusted gross income of $18 million. He sold his primary business, Campus Televideo, in 2015.
His campaign provided copies of the summary pages of his state and federal tax returns for inspection, but not copying. He filed separately from his wife, Annie Lamont, a successful venture capitalist, in all five years.
The campaign of Republican Bob Stefanowski said Stefanowski would be providing similar information.
“The release of my tax returns provides more information than anyone else in this race has shared with the people of Connecticut,” Lamont said. “This is about transparency, and about being open and honest with voters. Donald Trump refused to release his tax returns, and so far Bob Stefanowski — who gave Trump an A grade for job performance — has followed in his footsteps.”
Lamont obtained extensions and typically filed his federal returns in October.
He lowered his taxable income in most years by significant deductions that were not detailed in the summary documents. His campaign said he paid an overall federal rate of 30 percent on all taxable income over the five years, when the top federal capital gains rate was 23.8 percent. He paid the top state rate, which was 6.7 percent in 2013 and 2014 and 6.99 percent in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Lamont made charitable contributions of $2.5 million over the past five years. Recipients included the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for United States Senate, the Biden Cancer Initiative, Bridgeport Public Schools, Central Connecticut University Foundation, the Boys & Girls Club of Hartford, the International Women’s Health Coalition, and other causes.
In a federal disclosure form filed when he ran for U.S. Senate in 2006, Lamont and his wife reported a net worth of between $90 million and $332 million, with much of it attributed to Annie Lamont. There is no similar disclosure requirement for state candidates in Connecticut.
Lamont has spent $12.1 million on his campaign for governor. His previous campaigns for U.S. Senate and governor in 2010 also were heavily self-funded.
Kendall Marr, a spokesman for Stefanowski, said Lamont inherited much of his fortune and is out touch with working class voters. “To Ned, our tax burden may just seem like a drop in the bucket, but to the middle-class families who will save thousands, tax relief is a big deal.”
Stefanowski has said he would eliminate the state income tax over eight years.
Oz Griebel, a petitioning candidate who was the former leader of the MetroHartford Alliance, released three years of returns last month. Griebel said the relative wealth of the candidates and their sources of income are less of an issue than their willingness to be transparent with voters.
“I don’t care and I don’t think the voters care,” Griebel said of the details. “They just want to know you are willing to share the information. The fact it’s taken them so long — and we’ve been transparent from the beginning — that’s how we’re going to run the government. The fact you have to pull it out of these guys, to me, speaks volumes.”
| Tax Year | Federal Income Taxes | State Income Taxes | Adjusted Gross Income | Charitable Gifts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | $411,988.00 | $187,110.00 | $2,579,595.00 | $733,517.00 |
| 2014 | $678,725.00 | $240,653.00 | $3,217,049.00 | $366,220.00 |
| 2015 | $1,159,839.00 | $398,452.00 | $5,347,810.00 | $322,418.00 |
| 2016 | $155,368.00 | $124,720.00 | $1,505,228.00 | $457,227.00 |
| 2017 | $1,086,832.00 | $392,240.00 | $5,348,498.00 | $585,732.00 |