What is the real reason Mitt Romney won't release his tax returns?

[lotus503]

The reason for wanting to see the returns was was if he is a success or failure in business. Him having more than one expensive home shows he was a success.

If a different reason is actually held, that reason should be stated instead.

The reason I want to see them is to see if he holds a ton of money offshore to avoid paying tax. Not illegal but not presidential either.

 

[CPA]

Huh? I think you don't understand the point of releasing the tax returns... We don't want to see them because we think they'll show he's a "failure" or poorer than he seems. We want to see them because we think they'll show he's up to no good.

Up to no good in what sense? Fraudulent returns?

 

[BD2003]

Up to no good in what sense? Fraudulent returns?

In the sense that the rich and powerful can get away with stuff the common man can't, legal or not.

That rightfully bothers a lot of people.

 

[IGBT]

he's waiting for your obama to release ALL his school records/business transactions/attorney business records and transactions/billing records your obama is not forthcoming and honest about his past. The truth be known your obama is slime disguised ans sophistication.

 

[jackschmittusa]

Birth certificate? He released the info in the way that other candidates had done, following common custom and tradition.

Transcripts? You're joking, right? Not that it matters, but it is public record that he held positions that required maintaining a high academic standard. It is not rocket science.

Romney will not release his returns (following custom and tradition) for only one conceivable reason: they contain information that would put him in a bad light, or worse. Convince me otherwise.

 

[MovingTarget]

he's waiting for your obama to release ALL his school records/business transactions/attorney business records and transactions/billing records your obama is not forthcoming and honest about his past. The truth be known your obama is slime disguised ans sophistication.

The dems are not asking that the Romney camp release anything that the Obama camp hasn't, nor are they asking for any of the extra stuff you have posted. The question is why the GOP stonewalling on relevant and recent information.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

He is not releasing them because the State of Hawaii says only the actual person the forms apply to can request them. Oh wait, that was why Obama did not release his Birth Certificate for years. My bad.

I vote with aliens.

Yawn, I'm sure the Secret Service forgot to do a background investigation on the fucking president of hte united states. People are such fucking morons it is unbelievable.

 

[cybrsage]

Yawn, I'm sure the Secret Service forgot to do a background investigation on the fucking president of hte united states. People are such fucking morons it is unbelievable.

Yep, just like people here think they forgot to do a background check on the GOP nominee for president. The same logic applies, and only idiots want to see either item.

 

[werepossum]

Let's have Obamas transcripts!

Psst, normal people don't care about either.

Agreed, but both issues give them something harmless on which to keep the nuts focused.

 

[BD2003]

Yep, just like people here think they forgot to do a background check on the GOP nominee for president. The same logic applies, and only idiots want to see either item.

I don't think anyone is implying mitt is breaking the law or that anything contained within the tax docs would disqualify him.

 

[blankslate]

Yep, just like people here think they forgot to do a background check on the GOP nominee for president. The same logic applies, and only idiots want to see either item.

Romney gave several of his tax returns to Senator McCain for consideration of Governor Romney as VP then Senator McCain chose Governor Palin.

I'm sure Senator McCain's campaign is under nda but maybe what was in those returns made him less desirable than Caribou Barbie.


http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012...his-tax-returns-would-ko-shot-at-white-house/

A single year’s tax return, after all, doesn’t give us much of a picture of a candidate. As Mitt Romney's father famously said when he released twelve years of his tax returns when he ran for the GOP nomination in 1968: “One year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show.”

Just four years ago, Mitt Romney gave the McCain campaign 23 years of tax returns -- and didn't get picked for the VP slot.

hmmmm... What does McCain know that we don't know.

another source that backs up the fox source.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/13/romney-s-tax-returns.html

Over at TPM, Brian Beutler makes an excellent point: Watch what Steve Schmidt has to say about all this. Why? Because in 2008, Schmidt was in charge of vetting possible veeps for McCain, and he knows what's here, writes Beutler:

Remember, in the VP vetting process Romney gave the McCain campaign over 20 years of tax returns. Schmidt ran that campaign and my hunch is he has the best combination of political smarts and actual knowledge of what’s in the returns to make the call.

Six months ago, he didn’t think it was worth it.

The question of the op is an interesting one.

 

[piasabird]

Why should he and why do you care? You will just find he donated 10+% of his earnings to charity. I say make everyone in congress that did not donate at least 10% of their earnings to charity resign.

You should be glad he paid all that tax money so poor people can sit on their ass and have sexual relations with multiple partners so they can have their welfare babies and live off the government.

 

[zinfamous]

well, I think he learned a lesson.

It's not like Obama releasing his birth certificate silenced the loonies of the country.

what service would it do him to release his tax records?


....other than pissing off 90% of America when they realize he contributes about 15% of his income, as opposed to everyone else's ~30%

😀

 

[cybrsage]

Romney gave several of his tax returns to Senator McCain for consideration of Governor Romney as VP then Senator McCain chose Governor Palin.

I'm sure Senator McCain's campaign is under nda but maybe what was in those returns made him less desirable than Caribou Barbie.


http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012...his-tax-returns-would-ko-shot-at-white-house/
hmmmm... What does McCain know that we don't know.

another source that backs up the fox source.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/13/romney-s-tax-returns.html

The question of the op is an interesting one.

McCain picked someone he thought would energize the base. Had Palin been a brighter bulb, it would have worked and we would have President McCain right now.

But I suspect you believe Romney is actually funding Al Quida via his offshore accounts...

 

[cybrsage]

I don't think anyone is implying mitt is breaking the law or that anything contained within the tax docs would disqualify him.

You did not read the thread then.

 

[mshan]

"Named for a historic Massachusetts coastal lighthouse, Sankaty was part of a cluster of similarly named hedge funds run by Bain Capital, the private equity firm Romney founded and led until 1999. The offshore company was used in Bain's $1 billion takeover of Domino's Pizza and other multimillion-dollar investment deals more than a decade ago.

Romney's campaign declined to answer detailed questions from AP about Sankaty. Romney aides have said in the past that some disclosures were not required because those assets were valued by his financial advisers at less than $1,000 - below the minimum threshold under federal rules set by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. A financial snapshot of Sankaty in Romney's 2010 tax returns showed the holding with almost no value at the time- with $10,000 in both assets and liabilities.

"Everything on the filings is reported as required," campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in a brief statement. "If OGE has an issue with any filings, they would let us know." The agency declined to comment.

While Sankaty no longer plays an active role in Bain's current deals, private equity experts said such holdings could provide significant income to Romney under his 10-year separation agreement from Bain, which expired in 2009. Investment funds typically churn "carried interest," profit shares due to the managers of the funds that often range as much as 20 percent of a fund's annual profit - known as "the carry." Even after investment funds are exhausted, profit shares and other late earnings from those stakes can continue to stream, arriving as lucrative "tails," tax experts say. In some circumstances, the analysts added, offshore companies like Sankaty could also offer limited tax deferral advantages.

The implications of Romney's Bain profit-sharing became clear last month when his trust reported that one rarely disclosed asset had posted a $1.9 million payout. The income was described as a "true-up" payment, catch-up income that made up for unpaid earnings owed to Romney as part of his Bain separation agreement.

Such sizable earnings are possible "depending on the terms of the agreement," said tax law expert Michael Kosnitzky, an attorney at the New York firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner. The Romney campaign acknowledged recently that it could not rule out more large future payments.

The use of offshore companies such as Sankaty is allowed under U.S. tax laws. They are typically set up as shell corporations by private equity and hedge funds to route investments from large foreign and institutional investors, such as large pension plans, into corporate takeovers. The money is used to provide equity and buy up debt. In turn, the investors gain U.S. tax advantages by passing their funds through the offshore "blocker" corporations, avoiding a high 35 percent tax on earnings that the Internal Revenue Service describes as "unrelated business income."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...COMPANY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/bain-capital-mitt-romney-outsourcing-china-global-tech

Wow, guess Romney really does have legitimate reason to not want to release his previous tax returns. Guess he has got to hope war with Iran breaks out or Assad gets toppled in Syria in next week or two before Olympics start and everyone focuses on that. 🙄

 

[nehalem256]

well, I think he learned a lesson.

It's not like Obama releasing his birth certificate silenced the loonies of the country.

what service would it do him to release his tax records?


....other than pissing off 90% of America when they realize he contributes about 15% of his income, as opposed to everyone else's ~30%

😀

Which of course explains why 45% pay ~0%(or less)

 

[nehalem256]

As someone who watched Romney from one state over during his years as Governor of Massachusettes people are going to very surprised at who they elected if he wins the Presidency.

Romney is a religious fanatic. He really believes all the Mormon stuff about planet Kolob. As one of the chosen people Romney thinks anyone who is not Mormon is damned. He cares nothing for anyone but himself and his church. He will do and say anything to get power.

He is the true stealth candidate. On the day he takes office, watch out America. Both the right and the left are going to get screwed.

So you are agreeing with the aliens theory.

 

[Linux23]

Romney would never mislead us.

 

[BD2003]

You did not read the thread then.

Sure I did. No one is claiming he's not a legitimate candidate (like the birthers). People just want to know the extent of his tax avoidance (or lack thereof), so they can judge for themselves whether or not he's the type of leader they want.

The political calculation must be that what's in there is more damaging to his candidacy than the secrecy itself. Neither is a good look.

 

[zinfamous]

Which of course explains why 45% pay ~0%(or less)

:hmm:

 

[cybrsage]

Sure I did. No one is claiming he's not a legitimate candidate (like the birthers). People just want to know the extent of his tax avoidance (or lack thereof), so they can judge for themselves whether or not he's the type of leader they want.

The political calculation must be that what's in there is more damaging to his candidacy than the secrecy itself. Neither is a good look.

If he was actively committing federal crimes, this would have been discovered.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Normal people don't care about Obama's transcripts because they are 'ancient' history by now. To new voters today, those were from the time when ipods were powered by steam for christsake. Romney's tax returns are far more relevant because it can show who he is influenced by and to what extent. He is also running on his record as a businessman (instead of his far more relevant experience as a governor), and his tax returns can back up/dismiss his successes/failures in that arena.

I'm not sure that anything significant would come to light since like all Presidential candidates they've been under a microscope already. Obviously he's significantly inclined towards business. Obama is driven less by those concerns than by his ego. Hes more driven by power than money. Theres not much more I personally need to know. I do believe that the smallest item would be equivalent to the nonsense the Reps did with O

 

[cybrsage]

So you are agreeing with the aliens theory.

I vote for aliens are doing it.

 

[techs]

Actually if Romneys tax returns show he was involved with Bain or one of its owned companies then he committed a felony in that he testified in Massachusettes under oath that he was not involved after 1999.

Something to do with him having to prove Mass. residency to run for Governor.

This somewhat explains it:
It's also a claim he made in August 2011 on the federal disclosure form he filed as part of his presidential bid. Romney didn't leave any wiggle room: "Mr. Romney retired from Bain Capital on February 11, 1999 to head the Salt Lake Organizing Committee [for the 2002 Winter Olympics]. Since February 11, 1999, Mr. Romney has not had any active role with any Bain Capital entity and has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way."

That is false.

SEC files include at least six instances of Romney signing documents after February 1999, proving -- unless the signatures were forged -- that his claim to not have "been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way" is wrong.


Thus, if he was involved he committed a felony by lying under oath.
Seems Republicans have thing for that. Or maybe its only when its about a blow job.