DATE: Thursday, May 8, 1997                 TAG: 9705080415

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B11  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: BRISTOL                           LENGTH:   60 lines

GILMORE RELEASES HIS TAX RETURNS, CHALLENGES BEYER TO DO THE SAME

Republican gubernatorial candidate James S. Gilmore III released four years of personal income tax returns Wednesday and called upon his Democrat opponent, Donald S. Beyer Jr., to do the same.

A spokeswoman for Beyer said the candidate plans to disclose five years of his returns shortly.

Gilmore's release of personal financial records came on the eve of his formal entry into this fall's gubernatorial race.

The attorney general is scheduled to fly to four metropolitan areas of the state to announce his candidacy officially and unveil an agenda to hire more public school teachers while at the same time proposing modest tax cuts.

Gilmore, who is unopposed for governor in the June 10 Republican primary, is slated to make an announcement at Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach at 2 p.m.

The tax returns underscore Gilmore's upcoming efforts to portray himself as a man of modest origins who works hard for a living.

He and his wife, Roxanne, a teacher at Randolph Macon College, reported joint income of $119,287 last year. They paid $20,848 in federal income taxes and $5,603 in state income taxes.

The vast majority of their income came from Gilmore's $97,500 salary as attorney general. Gilmore reported $5,051 in capital gains and $1,197 in dividends. He also reported a $2,654 loss on an office building he co-owns in Richmond.

The Gilmores, who have two young sons, owed the federal government $1,317 on their 1996 return. They requested a $62 return from the state.

Their returns from the three previous years showed their income ranging from $108,873 to $123,414. During those three years, they paid a total of $60,202 in federal income taxes and $15,978 in state income taxes.

Gilmore called on Beyer, a successful Northern Virginia car dealer, to release his returns.

``He's a guy who's always had money,'' Gilmore said during a news conference at War Memorial in Bristol. ``I don't know what he has in his tax returns.''

Page Boinest, a spokeswoman for Beyer, replied, ``Don Beyer is very proud of the fact that his family built a business from the ground up. We appreciate the attorney general's efforts to remind people of that.''

Gilmore has placed his assets in a blind trust and plans to resign from public office June 11 to concentrate on the campaign. He called on Beyer, the lieutenant governor, to do the same.

``I don't want anyone saying I'm going to compromise the office of attorney general when things get in full swing,'' said Gilmore, who earlier this spring had been criticized for accepting campaign contributions from Philip Morris Corp. while refusing to join 22 other states in a suit to recover public health costs from cigarette manufacturers. ILLUSTRATION: Photos

James S. Gilmore's release of personal financial records came on the

eve of his entry into the gubernatorial race.

Donald S. Beyer Jr. is expected to disclose five years of his

personal income tax returns shortly.

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