Buttigieg releases tax returns from time working as McKinsey consultant

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday released two more years of his tax returns, ahead of the presidential debate in Atlanta later in the day.

Buttigieg released tax returns for 2007 and 2008, years when he worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company. The South Bend, Ind., mayor previously released his tax returns for 2009 to 2018 in April.

In a statement, Buttigieg called on other candidates to release information about their income.

“As someone who worked in the private sector, I understand it is important to be as transparent as possible about how much money I made during that time,” Buttigieg said. “Every candidate in this race should be transparent with voters by disclosing their income in the private and public sectors.”

Buttigieg’s 2008 federal tax return reports adjusted gross income that year of $122,680 and total taxes of $25,776. His 2007 return reports adjusted gross income of $80,397 and total taxes of $13,954. Buttigieg worked at McKinsey from 2007 to 2010.

The release of the additional tax returns comes as Buttigieg has seen increased support in a number of polls. Several recent polls have found him leading in the early caucus and primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Many of the Democratic presidential candidates have released at least 10 years of tax returns in an effort to draw a contrast with President Trump — including former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Trump in 2016 became the first major-party presidential nominee in decades to refuse to release his tax returns. Trump has said he won’t release his returns while he’s being audited, but the IRS has said that audits don’t prevent people from making their own tax information public. In July, House Democrats filed a lawsuit in an effort to obtain Trump’s federal tax returns from the IRS.