(CNN) - After calls from his Democratic opponent to release his personal income tax returns, former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer – currently making a political comeback bid for New York City comptroller – disclosed his income and taxes paid for the past two years.
Spitzer, who stopped short of releasing his full tax returns, said he made an adjusted gross income of $4.268 million in 2012 and paid $2.094 million in federal, state and city taxes, a rate of 49%.
In 2011, Spitzer's adjusted gross income was $3.769 million and he paid a tax rate of 39.5%. Spitzer was employed by CNN for part of that year, hosting an evening program until July 2011.
A Spitzer campaign spokeswoman said the candidate wouldn't release his full tax returns "as they contain income information about partnerships and other entities that is private."
The disclosure came after the campaign of Spitzer's Democratic opponent, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, called on the former governor to release his returns from the past five years. Stringer's own tax information showed the candidate's adjusted gross income was nearly $218,000 in 2012 and $222,000 in 2011.
"People don't want the drama of Eliot Spitzer, who was a failed governor by any measure," Stringer said on MSNBC Tuesday. "Now coming in the race refusing to release five years of taxes, refusing to file a conflict of interest form. This show is basically making clear to people that Eliot represents a different set of rules than the regular public, and that's not going to play well in the city of New York."
As Spitzer made a last-minute effort to gather enough signatures for a place on the primary ballot last week, he failed to file a required financial disclosure report with the city's Conflicts of Interest board. The report was due Thursday, the same day Spitzer announced that he had obtained 27,000 signatures since he first started collecting names on Monday. He needed 3,750 valid signatures to get on the ballot.
The penalties for missing the disclosure deadline include fines ranging from $250-$10,000. The Conflicts of Interest Board determines the fine based on a candidate's past failure to file reports in a "timely manner."
"The old Eliot Spitzer supported stringent ethics disclosure," said Stringer campaign spokeswoman Audrey Gelman. "Just as we've seen on his decision to abandon campaign spending limits he once supported, it's increasingly clear that Eliot Spitzer believes there are two standards in public life-one for him, and one for everyone else."
Spitzer served as New York governor until 2008, when he resigned after admitting to paying prostitutes for sex.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday, Spitzer leads Stringer 48%-33% in the Democratic primary race for comptroller. The vote will take place September 10.
