General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Guys: heads UP. New trend now raising its ugly head. Thanks to trump: [View all]JHB
(37,160 posts)In 1968 George Romney, then governor of Michigan and vying for the Republican presidential nomination released 12 years of tax returns. He did so because, he said, "one year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show, and what mattered in personal finance was how a man conducted himself over the long haul." This set the precedent that had become customary until 2012.
In 2012, Romney's own son, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, waffled on the release. He pointedly resisted it, said it was nobody else's business, and finally made a show of acquiescing to precedent by releasing one year and a partial year's returns. Both were within the time span in which the IRS allows amendments, so both could potentially be revised after they had been publicly released.
And since Romney was the favored candidate of the Republican establishment, they were OK with that.
When 2016 rolled around and Trump had taken top spot, since the Republicans had already demonstrated they didn't care about a candidate's finances, he blew it off completely.
Lay the blame where it belongs: Republicans don't care, because it might (probably would) get in the way of their guy winning.