Public records · Emails · TXT

Cover email 1 from Will Baker

Nov 3, 2026, 8:24 PM EST · RE: Public records request — Commissioner Shouldice's commentary of October 25–27, 2026

From: "Baker, Will" <Will.Baker@vermont.gov> To: "mrkiouak@gmail.com" <mrkiouak@gmail.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2026 01:24:32 +0000 Subject: RE: Public records request — Commissioner Shouldice's commentary of October 25–27, 2026 Mr. Rkiouak: Attached please find records responsive to your request of October 30. There are 54 items I intend to send. It may be over more than one email. The records starting with “image_123655…” are a text exchange between Department employees Rebecca Sameroff and Sarah Mearhoff. No payments were made relating to the commentary. One record was withheld from disclosure because it is an attorney-client communication and is confidential and exempt from disclosure under 3 V.S.A. 317(c). Some records are being reviewed for privileged and confidential communications and additional time under 3 V.S.A. 318(b)(5)(C) is needed. We expect to conclude review by November 13, 2026. Because one record was withheld from disclosure, you have the right to appeal to the Commissioner of Taxes pursuant to 3 V.S.A. 318. Will Baker Will S. Baker | Assistant Attorney General Director, Legal Unit Vermont Department of Taxes 133 State Street | Montpelier, VT 05633-1401 p: (802) 522-3360 | www.tax.vermont.gov CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email may contain confidential tax information. The information is intended only for use by the individual or entity addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, you are prohibited from any disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this information, and any such action would subject you to civil and/or criminal prosecution under state and Federal confidentiality laws. If you received this email in error, immediately delete this email and contact us at (802) 522-3360 or will.baker@vermont.gov<mailto:will.baker@vermont.gov> for further instructions. From: Matthew Rkiouak <mrkiouak@gmail.com<mailto:mrkiouak@gmail.com>> Sent: October 30, 2026 10:14 AM To: TAX - Commissioner <TAX.Commissioner@vermont.gov<mailto:TAX.Commissioner@vermont.gov>> Subject: Public records request — Commissioner Shouldice's commentary of October 25–27, 2026 You don't often get email from mrkiouak@gmail.com<mailto:mrkiouak@gmail.com>. Learn why this is important<https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification> EXTERNAL SENDER: Do not open attachments or click on links unless you recognize and trust the sender. October 30, 2026 Office of the Commissioner Vermont Department of Taxes Attn: Tara Hewett, Paralegal, Public Records Officer 133 State Street Montpelier, VT 05633 By email: tax.commissioner@vermont.gov<mailto:tax.commissioner@vermont.gov> Re: Public records request — Commissioner Shouldice's commentary of October 25–27, 2026 Dear Ms. Hewett: This request is sent to the Office of the Commissioner's published mailbox because the Department publishes no email address for its Public Records Officer; I ask the Office to forward it to you on receipt. The Department's receipt of this email begins the response period under 1 V.S.A. § 318(a). Under the Public Records Act, 1 V.S.A. §§ 315–320, I request copies of the Department of Taxes records described below. DEFINITIONS "The commentary" means the piece by Commissioner Bill Shouldice posted on October 27, 2026 under the title "Tax Commissioner Shouldice Challenges $57,000 Tax Cut Claim" <https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tax.vermont.gov/blog/tax-commissioner-shouldice-challenges-57000-tax-cut-claim&source=gmail&ust=1793455955374000&sa=E> and published as a commentary in the Manchester Journal (October 25), the Times Argus and Rutland Herald (October 27), the Brattleboro Reformer and the Caledonian Record, together with every draft, version, excerpt or adaptation of it, including social-media posts. "Communications" means email, text and instant messages (SMS, iMessage, Teams, Slack, Signal, WhatsApp or similar), voicemail, calendar invitations and meeting notes, on any device or account used to conduct Department business. Unless an item says otherwise, the period is October 1, 2026 through the date of your search. RECORDS REQUESTED 1. Every draft and version of the commentary, including the text as sent to each outlet and as posted, with file metadata (author, created and modified dates) and any tracked changes or margin comments. 2. All communications concerning the commentary — its conception, drafting, figures, review, approval, timing, placement, publication or promotion — sent or received by the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner, the Department's communications or public-information staff, the Commissioner's assistant, and any other Department employee who worked on it, with: (a) the Office of the Governor; (b) the Agency of Administration, including the Secretary of Administration; (c) any campaign, political committee or party, including the Governor's reelection committee (Phil Scott for Vermont, or however it is currently styled) and its spokesperson, Emma Shouldice; (d) any newspaper, editor, reporter or other media outlet; (e) any person or organization outside State government. 3. Internal Department communications concerning the commentary, including communications with Department analysts about the figures it uses (income-tax shares by income class, the $57,000 figure, the Massachusetts comparison) and any analysis, table or data prepared for it. 4. Records of any payment, purchase order, invoice, contract or use of State funds or accounts to place, publish, promote or boost the commentary or any excerpt of it — including paid placement with any publication and paid promotion on any social-media platform — or a written certification under § 318(b)(4) that no such record exists. 5. Every post, scheduled post, draft post and promotion or boost setting on Department social-media accounts that referenced or linked to the commentary. 6. Records sufficient to show which outlets were offered the commentary, by whom and when, and each outlet's response, including declines. 7. Records of any legal, ethics or communications review of the commentary before or after publication, including any request for guidance to the Office of the Governor, the Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs, the Department of Human Resources or the State Ethics Commission, and the Department's response to any complaint about the commentary. If attorney-client privilege is asserted for any of these, please identify each withheld record as § 318(b)(2) requires and produce the non-privileged portions, including dates, senders and recipients. 8. Department policies, guidance or directives in effect in October 2026 governing commentaries or op-eds by the Commissioner or staff, content posted to the Department's website or blog, use of Department social-media accounts, and Department communications during an election period, together with any 2026 communication transmitting or discussing election-period communications guidance from the Office of the Governor or the Agency of Administration. 9. Records sufficient to identify who wrote the commentary and the date drafting began; the file metadata produced under item 1 will satisfy this item. SCOPE AND FORMAT - Public records held in personal email, messaging or social-media accounts are within the Act when they concern public business (Toensing v. Attorney General, 2017 VT 99). Please ask each custodian named in item 2 to search such accounts for responsive records and to confirm in writing that they have done so. - Please provide electronic copies in the format in which each record is maintained (§ 316(h)–(i)): emails with full headers and attachments, documents in native format with metadata, spreadsheets as spreadsheets. Rolling production is welcome; items 1 and 4 first. - Please preserve all potentially responsive records, including text and instant messages, from the date you receive this request. - Please provide an estimate before incurring staff-time charges beyond the first 30 minutes (§ 316(c)). If the estimate exceeds $100, please contact me before proceeding; I may narrow the request or elect to inspect records rather than take copies. - If any record is withheld in whole or in part, please provide the written certification § 318(b)(2) requires — the records withheld, the statutory basis and reasons, the names and titles of those responsible, and notice of the right to appeal — and redact and produce the remainder of each record as § 318(e) requires. Section 317(c)(4) does not extend the deliberative-process privilege to Executive Branch agencies. - Please acknowledge receipt and respond within three business days (§ 318(a)). If you invoke an extension under § 318(b)(5), please state the reasons and the date you expect to produce. Sincerely, Matt Rkiouak Middlesex, Vermont mrkiouak@gmail.com<mailto:mrkiouak@gmail.com> · [phone]