Politics

Scott Brown

0000017a-15d9-d736-a57f-17ff8d390000Race: U.S SenateParty: RepublicanPolitical Experience: 2010-2012 - U.S Senate from Massachusetts2004-2010 – Massachusetts State Senate1998-2004 – Massachusetts House of RepresentativesPersonal: Married; lives in RyeEducation: Bachelor’s, Tufts University; J.D., Boston College Law SchoolCampaign WebsiteIssuesBrown says one of the main reasons he is seeking the seat held by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is the need to repeal the Affordable Care Act and encourage states to craft their own legislative solutions.A supporter of “Romneycare,” the Massachusetts health care program that includes many of the same components of the ACA, Brown voted to repeal so-called Obamacare in 2010. Yet he acknowledges that benefits offered by the ACA, such as requiring coverage for pre-existing conditions, are important enough to be part of a New Hampshire plan.“We need to repeal Obamacare and we need to put in place something that works for us…. There’s no reason why we can’t do it and also respecting our rights and freedoms and also doing it more competitively.”In late July, Brown began running television ads blaming Shaheen and President Obama for the “immigration crisis on our hands.” He criticized Shaheen for supporting immigration reforms that include a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S., which Brown characterizes as “amnesty.”Brown told NHPR’s Brady Carlson that the U.S. needs to “secure our border once and for all.” But he supports allowing foreign students with visas to obtain green cards instead of automatically returning to their country of origin, and he says some workers ought to be allowed to remain in the U.S. if there is a need.“I look at it in different pillars. The first pillar is if we have kids who are here from out of country and they’re going to school, they should get a diploma and the ability to stay here and live and work if they want. That’s a no brainer.If we have people who need seasonal help because we have a service industry in our state, tourism, etc., and there’s needs to be filled, we should allow that to happen…. If you’re looking at executives and other engineers, doctors, etc., and there’s a need and we can’t fill that need in order to keep our businesses vibrant and in our state, we should allow that to happen, no problem.”Brown supports an "all of the above" energy plan that includes federal tax subsidies to encourage the development of solar, geothermal and nuclear energy technologies. A one-time supporter of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program for New England states, Brown now opposes cap and trade or a "national energy tax," saying it would increase costs to consumers.

Shaheen Releases Eight Years Of Federal Tax Returns

New Hampshire Public Radio

Published June 24, 2014 at 10:52 PM EDT

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and her husband, William, earned an average of more than $472,000 a year in pre-tax income between 2006 and 2013, according to federal tax returns released by Shaheen’s campaign Tuesday.

The couple's joint returns were made available four days after Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown and his wife, Gail Huff, released eight years of joint state and federal returns. Shaheen had pledged to release her returns if her opponents did the same.

Like Brown, the Shaheen campaign restricted viewing of the documents to "credentialed members of the media" for a limited time, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“Senator Shaheen is keeping her word about releasing her tax returns and going above and beyond what is required by law in her commitment to transparency," said campaign spokesman Harrell Kirstein.

The returns show the Shaheens’ reported income ranged from a high of $676,642 in 2012 to a low of $186,787 in 2010.

Jeanne Shaheen’s only income after taking office in 2008 has been her senate salary of $174,000 a year, according to the returns. During that time, William Shaheen, a co-founder of the Shaheen & Gordon law firm, averaged about $400,000 a year in pre-tax earnings from the practice.

The Shaheens paid $876,397 in federal taxes - an average effective tax rate of 23.2 percent - over the eight-year period, and they gave more than $100,000 to charity, about 2.8 percent of their reported income.

Much of the voluminous filing was given over to details on more than a dozen separate business entities, including a handful of real estate ventures, a title company and a software firm.

According to the Shaheen campaign, the "majority" of those business interests, as well as most of the couple's investments, are controlled by William Shaheen. The couple's home in Madbury is in Jeanne Shaheen's name.

In her most recent financial disclosure statement to the Secretary of the Senate, Jeanne Shaheen reported that the combined value of the businesses - most of which are limited liability companies in which William Shaheen holds a partial interest - is estimated to be between $2.8 million and $5.9 million.

The tax returns report that, overall, the businesses lost nearly $900,000 between 2010 and 2013, most of which is attributable to a Dover company called JID Software Partners LLC.

Brown had demanded Shaheen release her returns after the former Massachusetts Senator and his wife released their's last Friday, along with Brown's financial disclosure statement.

Brown and Huff reported an average pre-tax income of $455,000 between 2006 and 2013, ranging from a high of $839,529 in 2010 to a low of $275,921 in 2007.

The couple paid an average effective tax rate of about 27 percent, and contributed almost $75,000 to charity.

Republican senate candidates Jim Rubens and Bob Smith have said they do not plan to release their returns, although both candidates have filed personal financial statements that are available online.

Shaheen Releases Eight Years Of Federal Tax Returns

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