It isn't often that the two major papers agree on a political issue, but yesterday, both wrote of the need for Cindy McCain to release her tax returns. CREW think so, too.

Washington Post:

For a candidate who puts a premium on transparency and ethics, John McCain has been slow and grudging in releasing tax information. He did not commit to doing so until after he had secured the nomination, and then he disclosed only two years of taxes, far less than his Democratic rivals. Mr. McCain's wife, the heir to a liquor and beer distributorship, declined to release her returns, citing -- as Ms. Heinz Kerry did -- her children's privacy. Releasing tax information entails intrusion, but, as we wrote four years ago, presidential candidates and their spouses "relinquish a significant measure of privacy. Meanwhile, tax returns provide information not contained in financial disclosure forms, such as charitable contributions and the use of tax shelters." For Mrs. McCain to say, as she did on NBC's "Today" show this week, that she would never release her tax returns, not even if she were to become first lady, is unacceptable. "This is a privacy issue," she said. "My husband is the candidate."

The candidate should get his wife to reconsider. The last thing the country needs in a new president is more secrecy.

Washington Times:

Cindy McCain refuses to release her tax returns. This is not just a questionable political decision that threatens to haunt her husband's campaign for the next six months. It is also the wrong decision. Mrs. McCain needs to change her mind and release the returns as quickly as possible. How Republican John McCain, the presumptive presidential nominee who rightly fancies himself the king of transparency on Capitol Hill, and his campaign strategists can permit this open sore to fester is unimaginable.

Controversy swirled over the weekend over the decision by the McCain for President campaign's refusal to release the tax returns of John McCain's wife, Cindy:

McCain's decision not to release his wife's returns baffled some Washington ethics experts. They noted that plenty of detail about the McCain children's trust accounts and even their credit card debt is included in the candidate's Senate financial disclosure forms.

"I think this argument about the privacy of the kids is really a red herring," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "The fact is, it is precedent that presidential candidates release their returns. When you don't, it looks like you've got something to hide."

McCain in 2007 donated about $105,000 to charities, most of it -- about $88,000 -- to the family foundation that he and his wife run. That amounted to nearly one-quarter of his reported income for last year. But because the McCains file separately, it is hard to know if that is a large part of the family income.

"The raw dollar amounts certainly are generous," said John D. Colombo, an expert on charitable-tax law at the University of Illinois law school. "But, we don't know what Cindy McCain's income is, and we don't know if John has sources of income," such as tax-exempt bond interest, which would not be reported on a federal tax return.

Today, John McCain released his tax returns.  However, McCain did not release the forms for his wife, Cindy, who files separately.  CREW's Melanie Sloan thinks that presents a problem for McCain:

The Associated Press estimated this month that Cindy McCain is worth over $100 million based on the value of her late father's stake in Hensley & Co.

In 2004, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry disclosed a portion of the tax returns of his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, heir to a $500 million fortune, three weeks before the election.

Hazelbaker said Cindy McCain's situation differs from Teresa Heinz Kerry because Kerry had loaned money to her husband's campaign and Cindy McCain hasn't done so.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the failure to release Cindy McCain's returns shouldn't fly with voters because transparency has been ``a signature issue for John McCain,'' and not releasing her information smacks of hypocrisy.

``He should just release the tax returns and make it a non- issue,'' Sloan said.

In light of Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) release of his tax returns this week, CREW urges the remaining presidential candidates, Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and John McCain (R-AZ), to release their returns as well. When running for president, candidates must be willing to put all their cards on the table. We encourage Sens. Clinton and McCain to do so now.

Below, CREW has compiled a list of presidential and vice presidential candidates who have released their returns since 1992.

*Note: This list does not include incumbent presidents and vice presidents, who typically release their tax returns during each year of their administration.