Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says in a new interview that he will release his tax returns by Monday while acknowledging that he is a millionaire because of book sales.
“On the day in the very immediate future, certainly before April 15, we release ours, I hope that Donald Trump will do exactly the same,” he told The New York Times for a story published Tuesday.
“We are going to release 10 years of our tax returns, and we hope that on that day Donald Trump will do the same,” he continued.{mosads}
Sanders acknowledged in the interview that he is a millionaire, attributing it to his book sales. The newspaper noted that his most recent book, “Where We Go From Here,” was published last year.
“I wrote a best-selling book,” he told the Times. “If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.”
Sanders and other Democratic presidential candidates have sought to release their own financial information in an effort to push Trump to release his tax returns.
During the 2016 election, Trump cited an IRS audit as his reason for not releasing his returns. The agency has said audits don’t prohibit individuals from releasing information about their own finances.
Sanders has long promised to release his tax returns in connection with his presidential campaign and has said he and his wife, Jane, prepare them without an accountant, according to the Times.
Several other Democratic contenders for president, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, have released years of their tax returns.
Sanders has consistently ranked among the least wealthy senators but has made more money since his 2016 presidential campaign. According to his 2017 Senate financial disclosure forms, he earned roughly $1.06 million that year, most of it from book royalties, according to the Times.