Today, Jillian Rayfield at Salon noted that Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez has a tax problem, but omits that Democrat Ed Markey has one too – and it’s probably more severe given he’s been in Congress for almost forty years.

In a move that is already inviting comparisons to Mitt Romney, Gabriel Gomez, the Republican candidate for Senate in Massachusetts, rejected calls to release tax records related to questions about a $281,500 tax deduction he took on his house.

The Boston Globe reported earlier this week that Gomez claimed the deduction after agreeing not to make any changes to the facade of his home. Federal law tries to protect historic homes such as Gomez’s by considering it a charitable contribution if a homeowner agrees not to make any visible changes to it. From the Globe:

But Gomez and his wife, Sarah, were already barred from making any changes to the exterior of their home under the bylaws of the local Historical Commission, raising the question as to whether their donation — the price of which is based on the loss of value in their real estate — had any monetary worth.

The Gomezes, whose 59 Highland Ave. home is located within the Cohasset Common Historic District, gave the historical easement to the National Architectural Trust, a Washington-based organization whose marketing of tax-deductible easements to homeowners has been targeted by the US Department of Justice.

Gomez has said he followed the law, and doesn’t regret anything. Also, the Mitt Romney comparison falls flat since the electorate is 5%  more Romney friendly than it was back in November of 2012. But what about Markey’s tax returns?  He hasn’t released them, and the NRSC is demanding that he does.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Communications Director Brad Dayspring released the following statement calling on Ed Markey – whom taxpayers have supported for the last thirty-six years – to release his tax returns to the public that pays his salary:

“Ed Markey has been in Washington for nearly forty-years complicating the tax code to the point where it’s a nightmare for hard working people in the real world. Despite making taxpayers’ lives hell for over four decades, Markey is so arrogant that he refuses to release any of his own tax returns for the thirty-six years that taxpayers have paid his salary and for his home in Maryland.

“Ed Markey is a career politician who was embroiled in a check bouncing scandal and has repeatedly given himself pay raises with tax payer dollars.  Until Markey releases his own tax returns, he should be quiet and focus on creating opportunity, investment and jobs – reforming the tax code that he helped screw up is a good place to start.”