Tax Policy Update - July 07, 2015

NUMBER OF THE WEEK: 36 percent

The average effective tax rate paid by Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush over the past 7 years, since leaving the Florida governor's office. With the release of tax returns dating back to 1981, Bush became the first candidate in the 2016 presidential race to publicly share detailed information regarding his earnings and tax payments with the public. In a statement released with the tax returns, Bush said his tax payments "will show voters how I earned a living over the past three decades and how much of that living I had to give back to Uncle Sam. (Spoiler Alert: A LOT)." He added that he paid a higher tax rate than the Clintons in 2014, despite earning less money. Bush then turned his release into a plug for tax reform, saying "it's time for a flatter, fairer tax code. The labyrinth of rules and special interest carve outs need to go." Read more here.