Clock ticking on Gavin Newsom to release his tax returns as promised

Gov. Gavin Newsom has just one day left to make good on his promise to release his latest tax returns.

After vowing to release years of long-awaited tax returns by the end of July, the governor’s office did not provide The Post a clear answer on whether the records will be made public Friday — the final day of the month.

The waiting game continues two weeks after Newsom’s office assured The Post that “the remaining returns will be shared this month,” ending debate over a hot topic in Sacramento on why the governor had stopped publicly releasing his tax returns after tax year 2020 despite previously pledging to disclose them annually while in office.

Newsom’s office previously downplayed the significance of the missing filings.

“They’re unremarkable and entirely consistent with what Californians already know from his annual Form 700 disclosures,” spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo wrote in an email. 

“The Governor publicly released his tax returns while he was on the ballot and is happy to go above and beyond by releasing the remaining years as well.”

Newsom’s tax returns have attracted increasing attention as he and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, are the subject of federal investigations. One probe is looking into the first partner’s taxes, a source told The Post.

Federal investigators also investigated Newsom’s ex-chief of staff, Dana Williamson, who pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, filing a false tax return and lying to the FBI. Williamson is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 17.

Newsom has called the probes into him and his wife a witchhunt, accusing the Trump administration of weaponizing the Justice Department against a likely 2028 presidential contender. Trump refused to release his own taxes before and after running for president the first time in 2016. Returns from 2015 to 2020 were later released by Democrats in 2022, just before they relinquished control of the House back to Republicans.

During his successful 2018 campaign for governor, Newsom released multiple years of tax returns dating back to 2011. After taking office, he signed a 2019 law requiring candidates for governor to publicly disclose five years of federal tax returns as a condition of appearing on California’s primary election ballot.

Newsom also promised to continue releasing his own returns annually while in office.

However, the last returns the governor made public in 2022 — covering tax year 2020 — showed that he and Siebel Newsom earned nearly $1.5 million and paid about $480,000 in federal taxes. Most of the couple’s income came from Newsom’s ownership interests in wineries, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality businesses that were placed into a blind trust after he became governor.

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Because of that arrangement, the returns no longer identify which specific businesses generated income or losses.

Newsom himself had no answer on why his tax returns have not been released when pressed by The Post during a news conference earlier this month.

“I know you love taxes,” he quipped before pivoting to criticize President Trump.

When reminded that he had frequently contrasted himself with Trump on financial transparency, Newsom insisted he had released his taxes “for decades.”

“And you will have all those new tax returns, because — I have no reason why you haven’t gotten them already,” he said.

In the past when Newsom publicly disclosed tax records, reporters were not permitted to photocopy or photograph them. 

In 2021, the Los Angeles Times reported that journalists were given about an hour to review a stack of tax documents roughly two inches thick before leaving.

Whether Newsom opts for a similar rollout — or simply posts the returns publicly — remains unclear.