Beutler via TPM: Three Key Questions Raised By Romney’s Tax Revelations
Brian Beutler - January 25, 2012, 5:44 AM
Mitt Romneys campaign has tried desperately to put a lid back on the can of worms that burst open weeks ago when the one-time GOP presidential front runner declined to release any of his tax returns.
But by actually releasing his 2010 return, and an estimation of his 2011 return, camp Romney has provided reporters with some, but not all, of the answers theyre looking for as they try to paint a complete picture of the finances of one of the wealthiest candidates for President in U.S. history.
Romneys revelations confirm that his effective tax rates in the past couple years have been as low or lower than those of workers with truly modest means. They also confirm that hes availed himself of truly complex tax strategies designed to boil his liability down to the lowest level allowed by the countrys heavily rigged, labyrinthine tax code. And we know, too, that these are things Romney didnt want voters to know at least not yet.
But they raise a series of new questions that will likely require Romney to disclose several years worth of additional tax returns if he wants to answer them satisfactorily. Here are three big ones that touch generally on the theme of Romneys efforts to reduce his tax burden by taking advantage of areas of the law that simply arent available to most people.
Read the entire piece at TPM.com