Kerry: Teresa's Tax Returns Still Top Secret

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry continues to stonewall on requests for his wife, Teresa Heinz, to release her tax returns, insisting on Sunday that since the law doesn't require her to do so, they would remain top secret.

"My wife is doing exactly what the law requires," Kerry told NBC's "Meet the Press." "I mean, we have laws in America, and the law requires that the candidate release their tax returns," but not the spouse.

Mrs. Heinz-Kerry has assets and holdings valued at somewhere between $550 million and $700 million, but her annual income and the amount of taxes she pays are not known.

Kerry insisted that most of his wife's financial information has already been made public, telling "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert: "If you want to see what my wife's holdings are, plenty of people have, you can go to our Senate ethics forums. It shows you almost entirely what we have. It's very, very, very intrusive."

Kerry was apparently referring to the financial disclosure forms he's required by law to file with the Senate, which detail, among other things, the couple's joint holdings.

One potential sticking point: Kerry has claimed half ownership of the couple's Boston townhouse, taking out a $6.4 million mortgage on his half in December 2003 to shore up his then-flagging presidential bid.

However, the Heinz-Kerrys' Boston property was nowhere to be found among the joint holdings listed in Kerry's most recent financial disclosure forms, the New York Sun reported on Thursday.

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