W. Bush's Military Records and Tax Filings

[stpauler]

This article off of the AP states that Bush’s Military Payroll Records were inadvertently destroyed.

In a letter responding to a freedom of information request by The Associated Press, the Defense Department said that microfilm containing the pertinent National Guard payroll records was damaged and could not be salvaged. The damaged material included payroll records for the first quarter of 1969 and the third quarter of 1972.
“President Bush’s payroll records for those two quarters were among the records destroyed,” wrote C.Y. Talbott, of the Pentagon’s Freedom of Information and Security Review section. “Searches for back-up paper copies of the missing records were unsuccessful.”

My question is, wouldn’t his tax filings for those years in question give the substantial proof of payment and would they still be available?

(I’m leaving whether or not they’re in there as irrelevent for the sake of keeping this from getting side-tracked).

[Otto]

In a non-exhaustive search of the IRS website I find reference to the ability to request copies of tax returns from up to ten years previous. By implication that would indicate that tax returns from the relevant time period wouldn’t be readily available but not having contacted the IRS directly to verify I’m not stating it authoritatively.