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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Irony and Cynicism of Mitt Romney’s Secrecy Surrounding his Tax Returns
Despite repeated requests for transparency regarding his tax returns, Mitt Romney has thus far released for public view only his 2010 tax returns, with promises to later additionally release only his 2011 tax returns. This is despite his requesting that his potential running mates release several years of their tax to him (He wont say how many years he requested, but obviously several means more than one or two years).
This secrecy is especially ironic given that it was Romneys father, George, who engaged in path breaking transparency with regard to his finances in preparation for his run for the Republican Presidential nomination of 1968, when he turned over 12 years worth of tax returns to a journalist. Since that time, as noted by Edward Kleinbard:
Now it appears that the son of the man who inaugurated the practice of transparency in personal finances for Presidential candidates will be the one to terminate that practice at least temporarily.
Why is transparency of the personal finances of Presidential candidates important?
One of the major responsibilities of a U.S. President is handling the national economy. The personal finances of a Presidential candidate could provide clues as to how that responsibility would be handled once in office.
Release of Romneys 2010 tax returns showed that he paid less than 14% federal tax on an income of $21 million. Thats about half the tax rate of an average middle class family with two working spouses. Could it be possible that Romney paid far less than 14% federal tax in previous years? Tax experts have stated that it is indeed possible that Romney didnt pay any taxes at all in one or more previous years, on multi-million dollar incomes, and that he remained within the law in doing so. But wouldnt it be of interest to the American public to know if Romney paid obscenely low rates in federal taxes on multi-million dollar salaries over the years? That could raise issues of fairness in taxes that the American public would do well to consider. It is especially important to consider since under the budget plan of Romneys running mate, Romney would have paid less than 1% in federal taxes in 2011. Furthermore, under Paul Ryans "Path to Prosperity" plan, Romney might not pay any federal taxes at all for the next ten years.
Other questions raised by Romneys secrecy over his financial transactions
Financial experts have raised several additional questions posed by Romneys secrecy over his financial transactions:
It is known from the release of Romneys 2010 tax returns that he had a great deal of money in a Swiss bank account, which seems to have closed in 2010. In 2009 the IRS announced a partial tax amnesty for unreported foreign bank accounts. Did Romney avail himself of that amnesty program? If he did, might that emphasize the issue of whether some of the millions of Americans who have lost their homes or are currently in danger of losing their homes, largely as the result of fraudulent bank practices, be offered amnesty that would help them retain or regain their homes. Might it raise the question of whether these millions of Americans are as deserving as Mitt Romney? It has also been pointed out the ownership of a Swiss bank account could raise question of compliance with federal tax law, which could be resolved by release of the tax returns covering that period.
Romney is known to have an IRA of $102 million, which he accumulated during his tenure at Bain Capital. Yet Romney was restricted to contribution to the IRA during that time of $32,000 per year. How did annual contributions of $32,000 grow into $100 million? One possibility that has been mentioned is that Romney used some fallacious excuse to put in far more money that he was allowed to put in, in an effort to avoid taxes.
Nicholas Shaxson poses several questions about seemingly strange aspects of Romneys financial history: It is known that Romney has sheltered much of his wealth in foreign tax havens, but nobody knows much about them. Why is Romney still being paid by Bain Capital, and could those payments constitute a conflict of interest as President? Are Romneys blind trusts really blind, and if he knows whats in them, could that create a conflict of interest as President? Did Bain serve as a tax haven for foreign criminals? Shaxson points out:
The bottom line
As noted above, Mitt Romney would accrue huge financial benefits under the type of national budget that he and his running mate are proposing. A public viewing of Romneys financial transactions over the past several years the financial transactions that have helped to make him an incredibly wealthy man could shine a light and put in perspective the economic plans being put forth by Romney and Ryan.
As an abstract concept, I have no problem with people accumulating tremendous wealth. But as a result of huge tax breaks for multimillionaires, Paul Ryans plan would strip millions of Americans of basic health insurance, make severe cuts in college grants, and greatly reduce much of the federal safety walls that currently provide some protection to the low income Americans. As described in "Paul Ryan's 'Path to Prosperity' Budget":
The release of Romneys tax records could generate a lot of national attention for these issues. Arent these issues important for the American public (and voter) to consider? In considering Ryans Path to Prosperity plan, the American voter might want to consider whose prosperity the plan refers to.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Great post by the way
Time for change
(13,714 posts)on them. If our news media provided honest discussions of the ideas put forth by our politicians, the discourse and legislation in our country would move way to the left.
malaise
(267,808 posts)RandiFan1290
(6,206 posts)They will ignore this and cover for Ryan/Romney
Time for change
(13,714 posts)Thank God for the Internet. It provides a means to combat the misinformation and non-information provided by our corporate news media.