Tax returns reveal a lot about a candidate – their annual earnings, income streams, tax rate, and charitable donations.

But don’t expect to get that information out of the state’s candidates for U.S. Senate, at least not without a fight.

Republican incumbent Kelly Ayotte, her primary challenger Jim Rubens and Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan have yet to release any tax returns. When the Monitor asked last week when the information would be released, the response from the campaigns was not promising.

Hassan “would be happy to release her tax returns when Senator Ayotte agrees to do the same,” her spokesman said.

Ayotte’s camp said they haven’t determined a release date.

Ruben’s spokesman said he will not release tax returns. They “do not give a clear picture,” his spokesman said, but did not elaborate.

Tax returns have been a thorny topic recently. Despite multiple requests and years of precedent, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has refused to release his documents, citing an IRS audit. Some speculate the businessman is hiding his actual wealth or business deals with foreign entities, a point Trump refutes.

In New Hampshire’s most recent U.S. Senate contest, candidates released their tax returns in late June. Republican Scott Brown went first, and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen followed suit a week later. The returns showed that the candidates each paid an average tax rate of more than 23 percent, and together with their spouses, generated more than $450,000 in annual income.

Both Ayotte and Hassan have previously run for statewide office, but neither has ever released tax returns.

The documents would reveal key information, such as their current tax rate, where they get their income, and how much they donate to charity.

Bits and pieces of that information is included in financial disclosure forms the candidates file with the U.S. Senate. But the filings don’t offer much insight.

Neither Ayotte nor Hassan has a source of income outside political office. Ayotte’s husband makes at least $1,000 through his landscaping business; the forms don’t require a specific figure. Hassan’s husband Tom was paid $1,000 for a speech in August last year. Tom Hassan also drew income from Phillips Exeter Academy and also through his work as a consultant to a school in Santiago, Chile, and to the Global Citizens Initiative in Connecticut in 2015.

The exact earnings are not detailed in the reports. Those figures would be revealed in the tax returns, should they ever come out.

Politically, the tax return debate will likely play out like Ayotte and Hassan’s squabble over the people’s pledge, which was floated early on as a way to limit outside spending in the race.

But it ultimately went up in flames. While Ayotte issued a first draft, Hassan came back with a counter proposal and neither side could agree. The candidates still blame each other for the pledge’s demise, and outside money continues to flow into New Hampshire.

Tweet wars

Ray Buckley was largely spared from the recent email leak that cost DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz her job. But the New Hampshire Democratic party chairman did pop in one email titled “RE: FLAG: Ray Buckley being called sexist by America Rising.”

The issue? Pronunciation of Kelly Ayotte’s name. America Rising’s Colin Reed tweeted that President Obama bungled the pronunciation of Ayotte’s name.

Buckley quickly fired back: “Why would any POTUS know how to pronounce the name of an unaccomplished back-bench junior senator?”

Reed then called him sexist.

It is a typical battle between New Hampshire politicos on Twitter, where campaign staffers send off angry, vitriolic messages every few hours. And the DNC staffers apparently saw it as such. The issue, over email, was quickly resolved: “Nothing about this screams sexist to me.”

Who that?

Three-quarters of New Hampshire voters have never heard of the Democrats running for governor. That’s the news out of a recent WMUR Granite State Poll that shows name recognition in the race continues to be low, leaving the contest wide open. The primary is Sept. 13. The three Democrats – Mark Connolly, Steve Marchand and Colin Van Ostern – will have a radio debate Aug. 10.

Consider it closed

Don’t try the State House backdoor. Starting Monday, the public can no longer use the building entrace off North State Street, or the underground tunnel. Lawmakers and staff will get keycards to use those doors. The changes are due to security concerns.