As you can see from the graph above, Mitt Romney has only RELEASED one year of tax returns- 2010, and this tax return is not complete with DETAILS from the ethics form
Romney tax returns detail funds not identified in ethics forms
Some investments listed in Mitt and Ann Romney’s 2010 tax returns – including a now-closed Swiss bank account and other funds located overseas – were not explicitly disclosed in the personal financial statement the GOP presidential hopeful filed in August as part of his White House bid.
The Romney campaign described the discrepancies as “trivial” but acknowledged Thursday afternoon that they are undergoing an internal review of how the investments were reported and will make “some minor technical amendments” to Romney’s financial disclosure that will not alter the overall picture of his finances.
A review by the Los Angeles Times/Tribune Washington Bureau found that at least 23 funds and partnerships listed in the couple’s 2010 tax returns did not show up or were not listed in the same fashion on Romney’s most recent financial disclosure, including 11 based in low-tax foreign countries such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg.
The campaign has stressed that Romney has paid all required U.S. taxes on his foreign funds.
From the NYT: “The return showed at least 20 investments not previously listed on disclosure reports, but it did not provide enough information to evaluate their size or holdings. Neither the tax return nor other disclosures have revealed the full amounts of the Romneys’ other offshore holdings over the years, including investments in Germany, Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands, Australia and Ireland.” [New York Times Editorial,7/10/12]
An EYE-OPENING LOOK AT ROMNEY*
Salon.com: “This pattern of elusiveness is hardly confined to Romney’s finances, but rather defines his public life.” http://bit.ly/KRdh3V
The Nation: “The public has a right to know about ethics and probity, not mere legality, of Romney’s personal and professional financial history. Romney has made business experience the central pitch of his candidacy, so how can he claim that how he manages his money is irrelevant?” http://bit.ly/MsXePt
Think Progress: Five Shady Financial Tactics Employed by Mitt Romney: http://bit.ly/MTkUdo
Seeing the Forrest: Why Romney Won’t Release More Tax Returns: http://bit.ly/LuVnFx
Blue Mass Group: “It’s an eye-opening look at why Mitt Romney is really, really nothing like you.” http://bit.ly/LVEWGR
Atlantic Wire: “If the Romney campaign says there’s nothing unusual about Romney’s finances — that people of his wealth often have offshore accounts to protect them from paying taxes — that only strengthens Obama’s case.” http://bit.ly/R3u6NL
2 Political Junkies: Vanity Fair Shows Us the Money: Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Switzerland: http://bit.ly/R3u0pj
Daily Kos: “By connecting Romney’s Bain experience with the policies he is proposing as a presidential candidate and contrasting those policies with President Obama’s, the ad goes beyond a purely negativepersonal attack, instead framing the choice between Obama and Romney.” http://bit.ly/NtyAsk
Mitt Romney’s secrecy and nondisclosure has made it extremely difficult for Americans to know exactly where his money is invested.
WaPo: Romney using ethics exception to limit disclosure of Bain holdings
Excerpt: By offering a limited description of his assets, Romney has made it difficult to
know precisely where his money is invested, whether it is offshore or in
controversial companies, or whether those holdings could affect his policies or
present any conflicts of interest.
And while the Romney campaign is throwing dogwhisles to the rabid base about President Obama not being in tuned with the British ANGLO-SAXON, Mitt Romney is definitely not a CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK. His father George Romney is believed to be the FIRST Presidential candidate to make his tax returns public in 1967.
July 26. 2012 12:15AM
Romney’s taxes: Why do they matter?-EDITORIAL
Mitt Romney is a rich man. Like everyone, rich or poor, he has done everything legally available to him to minimize the tax bite. There are very few people standing in line waiting for the opportunity to overpay their taxes.
It is very clear, from the current debate over revealing more of his tax documents, that Romney knows the steps he has taken to minimize his tax bite, while legal, will subject him to still more fire from President Obama and his supporters. That is a given. No doubt, Romney is right. In fact, his wife, Ann, made that very clear when asked why he would not reveal additional years: “Because there are so many things that will be open again for more attack … and that’s really just the answer.”
Well, yes — and no. Maintaining the secrecy creates the impression, justly or not, that there is something there to hide. No escaping that reality. The impression is there. And it will cost Romney votes he cannot afford to lose. Those voters might not cast their ballots for Obama, but not voting can be just as damaging. And yes, for using the tax dodges and loopholes legally available to him, he might lose votes as well.
But there is no place for secrecy or, indeed, privacy in a Presidential campaign. If you want the job, you have to subject yourself to the scrutiny.
You have to be prepared to stand and explain, indeed, justify, your actions. If they are legal, then so be it.
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of this entire controversy is the one NOT being discussed much: How did Romney get himself into this position in the first place? He has been running for office for a long time. His presidential aspirations predate the tax returns in question.
What could he possibly have been thinking when he failed to ensure that everything contained in those documents was above reproach? Or was he simply not thinking at all? Surely he could not have arrogantly believed that he could withstand any storm that developed by bluffing his way through it? If so, it hasn’t worked.
If Romney intends to win, he is going to have to make the tax forms public. This storm won’t go away. It will distract from his policy debate with Obama — and it will distract from Obama’s failures, providing the incumbent with the smokescreen he is attempting to create.
Romney needs to end this. He needs to end this by revealing the tax documents, explaining them, explaining the legality behind his actions, and then he needs to move on.
This campaign is not about his wealth. And it is not about the amount he has paid, or not paid, in taxes. It is about vastly different views of America — and America’s future.
Unfortunately, as long as some voters believe there is something the presumptive Republican nominee is attempting to hide, the true debate takes a back seat. It’s time to get the inevitable over with. Release the tax returns, explain them, take the heat, and move on.
http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120726/OPINION01/707269907&source=RSS&template=printart