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By Karoun Demirjian (contact) 
Sunday, July 29, 2012 | 2 a.m.
Sun coverage
Editor’s note: Line of Attack is a feature that will run each week until the Nov. 6 election. In Line of Attack, we will parse a political attack, looking at the strategy behind it, how the campaign is delivering it and what facts support or refute it. We’ll assign it a rating on the fairness meter: Legit, Eye Roll, Guffaw, Laughable or Outrageous.
Attack:Mitt Romney has refused to release his tax returns from any year before 2010. What does he have to hide?
Method of delivery: An ominous voice speaks over your standard cop-drama background music, and Romney’s face appears over IRS forms and a coastline that looks like it belongs on Grand Cayman. The narrator reminds viewers of Romney’s offshore accounts (no president has ever had one before), sky-high income, low-low income tax rate and his secrecy about his financial past, all as prologue to the kicker question: “What is Mitt Romney hiding?”
Strategy: Ever since Romney announced his bid, the Obama campaign has been trying to paint him as a rich elitist who operates by his own set of rules. How perfect, then, that this scuffle over his tax returns fell into their lap. Democrats and Republicans from the furthest ends of the political spectrum have been calling on Romney to make more of his tax returns public. Obama’s ad taps into that but with a tone meant to make the viewer suspect something shady is going on — like maybe Romney’s paying no taxes at all.
Fairness meter: Through the power of really obvious suggestion, the Obama ad comes as close as you can get to accusing Romney of being a tax cheat without actually saying, “Hey! That guy’s a tax cheat.” On its own, the worst-case scenario the ad lays out — that Romney may have paid no taxes at all in past years — elicits eye rolls and guffaws. It’s pretty hard, even for corporate filers with several loopholes at their disposal, to get a tax rate down to absolute zero (single digits, however, are totally possible; even Nevada Sen. Dean Heller managed that), and the IRS has never charged him with untoward activity.
But Obama didn’t invent the idea that presidential candidates should release their tax returns. Romney’s father, George, did, by turning over 12 years of his tax returns to a reporter when he ran for president 35 years ago. (Obama has, not uncoincidentally, released 12 years of returns.) Like his father, Romney’s presidential bid is based largely on his record as a businessman, and he’s getting regularly rammed with questions about his corporate history that might be cleared up by whatever is in those returns. Although Romney has a right to his privacy, he can’t expect people not to speculate about his secrecy, because as that iconic philosopher of our time, Dr. Phil, put it, “People who have nothing to hide, hide nothing.”
That is why the ad as a whole is legit.
As someone who has actually owned property on Grand Cayman and knows everything about the island and tax rules therein, I can guarantee you there is only ONE reason why Romney is not releasing his tax returns: it's because he has been hiding income there. That's the only reason to even consider opening an account there since it's illegal to disclose those assets under Caymanian law. There is NO OTHER INCENTIVE! He is cheating on his U.S. taxes. He knows it. He's not an idiot. If he divulges his IRS forms (which I guarantee will NOT show all his assets on the island as required by the IRS) he will be exposed as the fraud that he is. It's that simple. No ifs ands or buts. There is no other reason to be so secretive. Nothing!
Why is Karoun doing this piece for Obama
Now the income that Romney has mostly comes from his 401k account from years at Bain. This information has not change year after year after year. What Obama wants to prey on are the holding within the 401k account in an attempt to publicly embarrass.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz has holding in Swiss Banks. A review of Obama WH staff shows that for the various WH millionaires including Valerie Jarret have similar account which includes multiple overseas accounts which are not illegal and Swiss bank accounts which are not illegal. In fact When business is done overseas it is customary to have a foreign bank account.
Obama knows the details of Romney's taxes and accounts because the IRS has report to Obama on his tax returns. The IRS has not found any audit issues. Twenty years of Romney returns were vetted by the the FBI for McCain during the 2008 election.
Plus Obama signed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act passed by Reid and Pelosi in 2010. This is a reporting act with huge fines associated. Obama hire another 800 IRS agent to enforce it. Romney has not been fined by Obama so everything is okay.
We know that Obama is using IRS audits and Labor Dept audits to harass large donors to Romney like Frank VanderSloot who donate to a Romney PAC and was singled out in Obama campaign attack ads. Obama's use of the federal government to attack people on his enemies list is chilling.
NOT releasing his tax returns...
The BAIN of Willard's existence!
Let us postulate...
-The tax returns show that Mittens WAS with Bain after '99 and that he's been LYING...
OR...
-The tax returns show that our Mr. Howell-Romney WASN'T with Bain after '99 and he LIED to the Mass. State Ballot Law Commission in order to run for Governator there...
OR...
-The tax returns show that he WAS with Bain while Bain was shipping jobs overseas & plundering company pensions, before sticking the Government with those obligations.
In summary...
We'll see those tax returns when Hell Freezes Over.
However you dice it...
this TAXING ISSUE is your Waterloo, Willard!!!
"As someone who has actually owned property on Grand Cayman and knows everything about the island and tax rules therein, I can guarantee you there is only ONE reason why Romney is not releasing his tax returns: it's because he has been hiding income there."
------------------------------
There it is..
:-)
I believe being a candidate for President behooves one to be as forthcoming as possible; it is entirely legitmate to ask for his tax returns.
This candidate being Mitt Romney, with the offshore accounts, history of financial secrecy, etc., makes the premise all that more germane.
Of course...
Hiding your DOUGH in OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS to AVOID PAYING TAXES would look rather UNTOWARD, even for a Howell-R.Money, wouldn't it, Mitt???
Tax returns are Clearly another attempt to divert our attention from the reported 1.5% growth in GDP
It will not work
----
Obama says -- "We tried our plan and it worked" -- worked to Obama means 23% underemployment - and 1.5% GDP growth - and 50 million on Food Stamps while putting us $6 trillion further in Debt
Obama says -- "The private sectors is doing fine" -- total employment Is 4 million less then when Obama took office and 250,000 small business are gone.
Obama says -- "Small business leader are not smart enough to be successful" -- the government is smarter
Obama says -- "A hard working Boss is not a reason for success without the government" -- "We are the government and we are here to help"
Obama says -- "If you've got a business, you didn't build that." -- you did not come up with that idea, you and your family did not take the financial risk, you did not have to met payroll, you did not have to sell your product or service.
Seems like I recall a similar problem a few years back about questions as to why a certain politician was hiding an alleged foreign birth certificate. We resolved that one. Time to resolve this one.
Fellow Commenters and Ms. Demirjian's 8th grade summer intern,
Don't I wish that the issue of private tax returns will make one ounce of difference as to who is the better man to be President. Apparently, I am in the minority as usual.
Purgatory
Seems like I recall a similar problem a few years back about questions as to why a certain politician was hiding his cocaine use and record and college records . We never resolved that .
We know that the issue of private tax returns will NOT make one ounce of difference as to who is the better man to be President.
------
Obama knows the details of Romney's taxes and accounts because the IRS has report to Obama on his tax returns. The IRS has not found any audit issues.
Twenty years of Romney returns were vetted by the the FBI for McCain during the 2008 election.
Obama signed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act passed by Reid and Pelosi in 2010. This is a reporting act with huge fines associated.
Romney has not been fined by Obama so everything is okay.
If the Romney's Olympic dressage horse does not win a medal, the Romney's plan to send it to a glue factory in Europe. They will not pay to ship the horse back to the USA.
Look what the Romneys did to their dog -strapped him to the roof. The horse was also given electric shocks by Mitt Romney and his 5 chicken hawk sons to force him to dance like a trained seal.
Just about 232 years from now, a scientific expedition is launched to an area of the western continental United States where the ancient lost city of La Jolla, California used to be located.
Along the coast, the American historical archaeologist digs, scrapes and brushes away at the sand and dirt carefully in the vicinity where a mansion once stood. A place that catered to a rich, powerfully elite family that was only rumored to exist.
Suddenly, unearthed is a relic from the past: An ancient briefcase. After careful research on how these old methods of business carrying implements were used, it was discovered how to open it.
The lid was opened slowly. To reveal what lay within.
After the scientist blows the dust and lifts ages old papers out to the light of day, he smiles and holds the yellowed parchments up in the air and loudly screams....
"Eureka! We've found it! And we thought they were lost to posterity! ROMNEY'S TAX RETURNS!"
That sounds far fetched.
But, as each day goes by, it is not stretching the truth.
We'll NEVER see his tax returns.
And that's okay. Because he'll soon be forgotten. Only a footnote in American political history.
Obama/Biden 2012! AND a Democratic Party majority in both the Senate and the House!
"Twenty years of Romney returns were vetted by the the FBI for McCain during the 2008 election."
It is estimated that offshore accounts contain between $21 to $31 trillion dollars. This money, sitting in bank accounts does not create jobs and additional deposits from foreign sources are not visible to the FBI.
The FBI does not have access to offshore and Swiss accounts, therefore they are 'vetted' by necessity, not facts. Nor is McCain in charge of vetting Republican tax returns.
Please tell me how being President and fixing the country is relying on looking at his tax returns? Who gives a crap..I hope as a business man he made a crap load of money..at least he knows what he's doing to make that type of money..I am not voting for a president based on their tax returns - Obama or Romney..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxch-yi14...
There's something seriously wrong with Romney's brain.
He's been a candidate for seven years and has had ample time to dump these shady offshore accounts and to tidy up his personal finances. Stashing money in Swiss banks and other tax havens is something average people have a hard time relating too, especially if the guy doing so wants you to elect him president.
His refusal to show the tax returns leaves no doubt that Etch A Sketch is in over his head. There's something there, probably something very ugly, and at this late hour Willard's has just two choices. One is bad and the othe worse. He's already waited too long.
Willard's dream of being president is toast. He's a freak and an oddball in too many ways or, in other words, a fairly typical republican.
mred @ 6:21
Hilarious!
The Romney residue... the wreckage in the wake of a corporate raider, a capitalist on steroids...see details below, way below
498,361 families out of work
179,553 homes for sale or rent
82,885,257 meals in soup kitchens
987,654,321 kids asking "Why, gramma, why? Why do ma and pa cry?"
One guy with goolobs of cash stashed offshore-
one guy with the conscience of a whore
One guy upends the economies in thousands of towns
One guy suspends thousands of lives to bejewel his crowns
The Romeney economy ... me,me,me
Mitt Romney goes out of his way to make sure the LDS cult gets 10% of his net income...Mitt Romney goes out of his way to MAKE SURE the American coffers do not get more than 15% of his gross income.
Which team is Mitt on? Team America or Team LDS?
There they go again! Envious green-eyed monsters who never made it on their own and who never will; carping about inconsequentials because their champion Osama Obama, has little positive to run on and is flailing about desperately, looking for anything that will divert voters attention away from the fact the he is inept, inexperienced and unqualified to sit in the Oval Office. They don't want to talk about 14% unemployment among black adults; 36% among young blacks. They want to hide from 3 1/2 years of 8% or higher unemployment; of Trillion $ deficits; soaring debt; and Billions in wasted "stimulous funds." They carp & complain about "off-shore" bank accounts because they either have none themselves (here or anywhere) or theirs are so thin they are embarrassed by the fact. They obsess about a "dog-on-the-roof." They mock Mitt's wife's fight with debilitating disease, but they run like frightened rabbits from Osama Obama's putrid record! What a sorry mess they truly are! Hey guys, try & come up with something positive about the guy with the Cheshire Cat grin, vacuous agenda and little else! For the rest of us, let's stop Osama Obama and his fellow travelers in their bid to "transform" the USA. Let's "transform" Osama Obama into a 1-term president. Come this November, vote Mitt!
Romney is in a straitjacket of his own making because he's obsessed with secrecy about Money. But the most important debts can't be paid with money! Romney's most significant debt which he has refused to pay is that as a presidential candidate he OWES the American people an explanation. He owes respect to his father's established tradition of releasing his tax records. But the fact that he is so secretive and paranoid about making plain his tax returns, which he says, if revealed would only prove he has nothing to hide is Nixonian & Nuts! Americans don't care if he is rich and applaud his success. But Americans also expect candor and straightforwardness not concealment & secrecy. This isn't about money but rather about openness and trust. Romney has a choice to trust in the judgment of the American voter about his financial dealings, but he doesn't think we can handle the truth. Recall that the SEC & IRS gave a pass to Bernie Madoff for years! He hurt a lot of people & many of them were wealthy. Greed weakens the judgment of people. But we so-called "common folk" don't have money to burn. Let's have full disclosure! What's Romney hiding - an Overseas Ponzi scheme? A tax shelter for foreigners?
@Future: When did the FBI start examing candidates tax return as part of the vetting process???
@Future: What proof is available that supports your charge that President Obama instructed the IRS to provide information on Mitt Romney's tax returns?
@Future: FATCA was enacted in 2010 by Congress as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. FATCA requires FFIs to report to the IRS information about financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers, or by foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold a substantial ownership interest. The law targets non-compliance by U.S. taxpayers using foreign accounts. Another phase of the law was implemented on February 8, 2012. What information supports your comments that Mitt Romney is Okay? Or, is this an assumption?
@Future: What information do you have to support your claim that President Obama is using the IRS and the Labor audits to harass Mitt Romney donors?
Thanks. Good discussion.
Romney is strange. In general, people just do not like him and it has nothing to do with tax returns or Swiss Mitt's bank accounts. It's the man, not his great wealth gained through vulture capitalism, that scares many of us.
The trees in Michigan are "just the right height" and "corporations are people". Those are not things normal people say, especially a candidate for president.
Ann, Seamus pooped on the roof again.
Romney: "I'm runnin' fer office, fer Pete's sake... I can't have paper trails and tax returns blowin' around in my front yard....."
I heard Mitt asked Andrew Dice Clay to be his Secretary of State.
12 years in the 60's were 12 sheets. Romney is "green" trying to save forests. I know, we publish 3,000 page bills that nobody reads, endless budgets that nobody reads. Face it..all you want out of a tax return is two lines..you don't care about the other half a million pages to be wasted. (As far as I am concerned, reporters should have to display their tax returns and update every year they have an opinion.) Now, lets move on, should Jessie Jackson be here talking about gun control, or should he be in Chicago neighborhoods talking? Or helping his son get better?
Throes...
Amen!
This cat is NOT NORMAL...
"He seems incapable of natural conversation and frequently uncomfortable in his own skin. He's simultaneously dorkily earnest and ingratiatingly insincere. He suggests a brilliantly designed politician android with an operating system still clearly in beta. He once tied a dog to the roof of his car and drove for hundreds of miles without stopping and some years later thought that was an endearing story. All video of him attempting to interact with normal humans is cringe-inducing, as a cursory YouTube search quickly demonstrates. (Martin Luther King Day, Jacksonville, Fla., 2008: Mitt poses for a picture with some cheerful young parade attendees. As he squeezes in to the otherwise all-black group, he says, apropros of nothing, "Who let the dogs out? Woof, woof!") He seems to have been told that "small talk" is mostly made up of cheerfully delivered non sequiturs."
http://www.alternet.org/story/155138/why...
Of course it is if he wants to be POTUS! The American people have a right to know how he made his money and did he pay his taxes or scam his way out of them?
Future,
Kepi says - - your comments are frivolous unsubstantiated rhetoric; basically rants. It appears as if you are trying to lead the reader to your conclusions. Do you really expect the readers to believe what you post, just because you post it?? Come on now. Is that what you really believe? Oh really??
Your total disregard regarding my repeated requests to cite your source simply proves my point. You have never provided a single source for any comments that you post. I realize that it takes time to cite each and every comment that you make, but until you cite your source(s) your comments will be viewed with disregard as baseless nonsensical gibberish. So, come on take a little time and cite your sources on a line item basis.
When you decide to cite your sources; please cite legitimate sources only.
WOW, gotta love Willard; made such a good impression while in Britain that they will have a good laugh for years to come!!! Now that is embarrassing.
I am not convinced that Willard can identify with and/or relate to ANYONE below his income bracket. Of course, he can represent and identify with the top 1-2% of the American People; those are his people; that is his base. Just because he was a CEO of a company does not mean he is qualified to be the next President of the United States.
Willard is an elitist and there is nothing wrong with that, but if you want to be the President of the United States, you must understand and identify with all income brackets; not just the top tier; not just your base; not just your own kind.
Therefore, one could question how can Willard possibly represent the American People as a whole, "The Middle Class"? The Working Poor? The Homeless Veterans? Struggling Senior Citizens? How can he possibly understand the Common Folk who are just getting by each day to pay their bills, put food on the table and comfort their children. How can he possibly understand the senior citizen who cannot pay for their medication and is struggling just to get by; he can't.
Willard not one of us; we are the common people; the little people. Financial/social status are all relative. Most of us would be considered staff to Willard. So how can he possibly understand our needs, problems and concerns? The answer is that he cannot! He just doesn't get it and he never will.
As you know, life sometimes is all about perception. So, would it be fair to say that Willard's resistance relative to providing tax returns and other financial information only leads to more questions? There has been a lot of discussion about tax returns, one may question why he won't be the kind of man his father was and turn over his tax returns? He turned over 23 years to John McCain so why the hesitation? Why the resistance? What is he waiting for?
And how can one possibly acquire $100M in an IRA? Why is he refusing to be more transparent about statements made about a Swiss Bank Account, does he have an account or not? What about investments in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda? Does he have them or not? The American People deserve to know who is the real Willard Romney? The American people are ENTITLED to know who is the real Willard Romney.
So perhaps Willard should enlighten us and:
1) Provide a full COMPLETE copy of his 2010 tax return;
2) Provide the same number of COMPLETE returns he gave John McCain;
3) Tell us about a Swiss Bank Account; does he have them or not;
4) Tell us about any investments in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda; does he have them or not;
5) Tell us if he has a $100M IRA;
6) Verify how long he worked at Bain.
Romney made his tax returns relevant. He complains the rich are taxed too much, well show us. So far he has only shown he pays an effective tax rate lower (13.9%) than my own middle class effective tax rate (18.6% in 2010). Romney has supported a Republican plan to cap federal spending to 18% of GDP. He doesn't even pay the 18% he supports.
How does a person have an IRA opened in 1984 have a value over 100 million. Remember IRA contributions are capped at $5,000 per year. So his 140,000 principal grew to over 100,000,000. Many have speculated he issued preferred stock from Bain at say 1000 shares valued at $5,000, he then contributes this value to his IRA, then declares $10,000 per share quarterly dividends. Very shady, but without his complete returns nobody knows how he accomplished such a rate of return (higher than Bernie Madoff).
Remember a few years back a Swiss Bank (UBS) executive turned over to the IRS a list of Americans with Swiss bank accounts. Instead of prosecuting these tax cheats the Bush administration granted amnesty to those who voluntarily came forward and admitted they were tax cheats. Was Romney one of those granted amnesty? The lack of reporting a Swiss bank account prior to the amnesty would suggest yes.
It's absolute hypocrisy for Obama to start demanding anyone turn over tax returns. How many people has he put in power who have had their own tax issues, treasury secretary Tim Geithner for beginners. And the Democrat Party media shills have never called him on this. Here are some others
http://townhall.com/columnists/luritadoa...
Romney is such a Toadstool. He has all, but, admitted to his intent to buy off the Electoral College to win this election because this elitist KNOWS he cannot win it by merit. What makes this worse is that Shelly A. is willing to give him that much more $$$ to ensure it happens.
@Future
@Sunjon,
There is no evidence the FBI has vetted a candidates Tax Return. Where did you guys get this information?
In order to have an informative discussion the leaders of the discussion must start with facts. The majority of the comments made after @Future's comments are implying @Future's comments are factual? Therefore, all comments referenced to @Future's comments provide the readers with information to continue the discussion with the expectations of a spirited discussion based on factual or accurate information. When the information is misrepresented or not true at all, the discussion becomes useless.
Note to the writer of this article:
It is best that "you" moderate discussions initiated by you or other writers from the Sun on the article encouraging discussions. Many of us readers notice that you state the goal is to elevate discussion, which is printed on the bottom of the page, yet there a lack of authority of the facts in providing direction for an accurate discussion of what you have written. After one has googled the comments by many of the commentors, one finds the discussion for the most part is wasted because of the inaccurate claims made by uninformed posters, or posters having intent to misrepresnt.
When Romney was asked if he liked world peace, he enthusiastically smiled, nodded and said yes, of course I do.
It came out later he realized he was totally mistaken.
He thought they said whirled peas.
There is probably nothing illegal about what Romney did with his money in offshore accounts but I can guarantee you it's going to be a public relations nightmare if it shows he used these accounts "to avoid" paying taxes. I'm sure anyone can do it if you have enough money, but it will show the difference between the haves and have nots and what loopholes they can exploit. From a public relations standpoint, it's going to hurt.
Even though it sounds trivial, I still have a hard time understanding a guy who strapped the family dog to the roof of a car for 12 hours, dog got sick, hosed him off and put him back up there to continue the trip. If he said in hindsight he wouldn't do something like that again...I could probably move on. To this day he thinks what he did was totally fine and acceptable. Mitt works on logic, not emotion. Sometimes that can get you in trouble.
JeniferAD @ 10:50 a.m. stated: Romney is such a Toadstool.
`````````````````````
That was so funny. I have not heard that word; well, I cannot remember the last time I heard that word. Loved it. Thanks
Colin 11:03 a.m.
That was a riot. Thank you.
There are so many laugh out loud wonderful comments.
This is a long one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TchBbnair...
Well, LV facts,
if you'd like to compare the NW of folks who appear to you as 'green eyed', let's just compare what some of us hard-working, industrious folks have accumulated before you launch into tirades about how some donkeys are jealous po' boys. My real estate investment trust (REIT) amounts to nearly .5B, but after teaching some school, building some houses, farming some dirt, farming some aquacultures, mining, developing some properties, remodeling a few hundred and investing in my own developments, it may seem a funny combo to a cookie like yourself, but over the last 52 years of piling it up, it amounts to something.
Sure, there have been some failures, a couple of big ones, but when the bottom line is halfway between 9 and 10 digits, AND you consider how much of my life was spent in the schoolhouse, overseas (mostly Bali, Jakarta, Amsterdam, Taipei, Singapore) and volunteering, then it may cause you to reconsider cheap shots at folks about whom you know practically nothing, yet whom you choose to attack for no good reason and whose distaste for snobs crosses the aisle frequently.
Kepiiiii Says Romney is such a Toadstool.
`````````````````````
That was so funny. I have not heard that word; well, I cannot remember the last time I heard that word. Loved it. Thanks
Kepi - So the fact is you do accept liberal statements without proper references. Why didn't you ask for the source
Prediction: If Mitt Romney somehow is elected president this year, he will be forced to resign in disgrace before his term is up much like the "I am not a crook," Republican president, Richard Nixon.
Future: July 29, 2012 11:48 a.m. stated:
Kepiiiii Says Romney is such a Toadstool.
`````````````````````
That was so funny. I have not heard that word; well, I cannot remember the last time I heard that word. Loved it. Thanks
Kepi - So the fact is you do accept liberal statements without proper references. Why didn't you ask for the source
`````````````````````````
Future, No No You don't have your facts correct again. I did not say Romney was a Toadstool. I said:
"That was so funny. I have not heard that word; well, I cannot remember the last time I heard that word. Loved it. Thanks"
Check out Alice in Wonderland. It is a riot that you selected the Toadstool comment!!! Too funny.
Bye Bye
Kepi --- you accept someone else's statement without the reference for shame?
What I said was "So the fact is you do accept liberal statements without proper references. Why didn't you ask for the source"
i like nancy pelosi's answer. when told that only 15 of 535 members in congress release their returns and would she release hers she said that's enough talk about income tax returns.
Poor TeaNuts...
When his guy gets CLOCKED *(again) will he admit the propaganda was useless?
Nope.
Sheldon Adelson is giving Mitt Romney $100 Million?
Oh vey..
Bad bet.. bad bet..
Romney loves his money more than his country, that much is obvious by him NOT releasing his tax-returns! And NO, he won't be selected POTUS by Adelson or anyone else! LOL
George Soros is giving Obama $100 Million?
Oh vey..
Bad bet.. bad bet..
Romney is a rotten human being. I doubt he cheats on his taxes but we do have a right to understand where he makes his money and who he does business with. It is disturbing he insists on hiding the records. Equally disturbing is the fact that he also keeps money in the Caymen Islands. Is this man a good example as a citizen? I would say no.
Fair? Only if Obama releases the sealed college records of admission, transcripts and those anti-American papers he wrote, the sealed records of why his law license was surrendered, etc.
Off shore accounts? All admitted and previously vetted. All declared and no taxes were avoided. All legal. Only an issue for the profit is bad, I'm jealous if you are more successful than I, the world owes me a living crowd. Why not released? Because the Obama campaign will make another career out of making something out of nothing with pointless accusations and innuendo based on class warfare and envy.
gmag39 You have explained the Mitt Romney situation as perfectly as can be presented.
I want to see those years in question tax returns of his or I will not vote for him.
SunJon The FBI had nothing to do with vetting Romney's tax returns for McCain.
Purgatory - It could make a huge difference. As pointed out by gmag99:
-The tax returns show that Mittens WAS with Bain after '99 and that he's been LYING...
OR...
-The tax returns show that our Mr. Howell-Romney WASN'T with Bain after '99 and he LIED to the Mass. State Ballot Law Commission in order to run for Governator there...
OR...
-The tax returns show that he WAS with Bain while Bain was shipping jobs overseas & plundering company pensions, be
Gee, A.D., you sure brought out all the juvenile name callers on this one!
EVERYTHING is fair game in this contact sport called an election so personal fortune is well within the pervue of investigation.
But if Romney is oh so rich - why does he take huge sums from the likes of Adelson?
Seems like he doesn't believe enough in himself to spend his own huge fortune.
If it were me I would have released more early in the campaign and gotten it out of the way. I think it was a mistake not release them unless he has a reason.
I don't know that we need 20 years worth. Common sense tells us what we need to know, Romney believes in free enterprise and success is not an embarrassment to him.
As long as all taxes due were paid and not evaded and no laws were broken, what's the point?
Now, if he evaded payment or cheated, like half the Obama administration, that would be worth knowing.
Who cares about Mitt's personal finances ? Not the American people, the ones who seem to want to dwell on such meaningless stuff is the Obama campaign, cuz they got nothing else!
Obama has already lost when this is all they got so early in the game! Can't wait to see this attack be turned on its head, hard to believe that the master of secrecy himself allowed his pulpit masters to go down this road, it leads directly back to the question, why has the Obama team paid millions in attorney fees to cover-up the deceiver in chief's past ?
And, WE ALL KNOW WHAT HE IS HIDING!
Correction about Obama's law license:
http://www.factcheck.org/2012/06/the-oba...
WOW
All you MSNBC watching liberals on this post have nothing better to cry about than tax returns.The SUN is just pushing out old rehashed stories he's a Mormon,evil Bain, his assault gun voting, you liberals have got to get your heads out of the MSNBC toilet. Lets just see when the SUN or any newspaper will run this Empty suited Presidents Record as president. They can't he doesn't have one. Mr.Romney on all law including gun law.... READ http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/367271/2...... ..
Who cares about Romney's old tax returns. Who cares about Obama's college grades. Both are meaningless. We should dwell on the issues. The big problem is unemployment and some guy's tax returns or college grades do not generate jobs. Too many good and decent people out of work and that is not right. Obama has not done much except spend taxpayer money on essentially personal trips.
Maybe liberals need to focus more on their money and not care so much what others do with theirs. Move along nothing to see here. Romney has been retired and the tax rate for a 65 year old is about 15% right? There is no one on the face of the earth with more sealed records than Obama yet libs conveniently ignore that.
Fact: You have zero right to dictate to the earners and providers in our society what they can and can't do with their money.
Let's start an Obama economic accomplishment thread instead of the bait an switch of attacks. How about limbs telling us all about the economic accomplishments of this administration.
We"ve given you people enough"
All this hot air about releasing records from the supporters of an unqualified president.
If the media would spend 1% of the energy they spend on Romney, on Obama, you all would be hiding your Obama love and avoid taking about politics all together...
But facts and liberals never are the same... Hiding all education and financial records is the only way they could make Obama electable.
So What's HE hiding??
@ Purgatory The issue of the tax returns matters with Mitt Romney, more than any other candidate. He's telling us all that he knows how to create jobs, and he's going to stop the jobs from going overseas. That sounds good, but when he was at Bain, and the chips were down, he had control and chose to invest in companies that will send those jobs overseas. You deserve to know the truth about that. So when he tells you he left Bain in 99, you deserve to know what the truth is about that. Also, he'll demand that his VP selection release 10 years of returns or more. How is that fair? He releases 1 year, but his running mate has to give him 10?
If he is such a good businessman how come he didn't clear this issue up years ago when Ted kennedy ran the same campaign against him? Romney has made the calculation that hiding his past is better than the public finding out about it. There must be something really bad in those returns.
Future, July 29, 2012 @12:06 p.m. stated:
Kepi --- you accept someone else's statement without the reference for shame?
What I said was "So the fact is you do accept liberal statements without proper references. Why didn't you ask for the source"
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Future, I am back on the computer for a moment. Please STOP IT WITH THE TOADSTOOL ALREADY! You have never responded to me, now we are talking about Toadstools ~ Are you kidding? You must be kidding. Or I must be crazy because I am responding. So here goes for the last time on Toadstool comment.
1)JeniferAD @ 10:50 a.m. stated: Romney is such a Toadstool;
2) I, Kepi, replied @ 11:32 a.m: That was so funny. I have not heard that word; well, I cannot remember the last time I heard that word. Loved it. Thanks
3) Give me a break; please stop it already.
There is a difference between an opinion, a cute comment and a fact.
Please no more discussion about Toadstools. It was a cute comment; leave it alone; please move on.
Future, Have a nice evening. Really, that is not a joke; I mean it.
What is Obama hiding?
He refueses to release his college records.
Boycott LVS and its properties
Dear GOP: you've undercut your own argument.
First, the GOP and associated tea party loons have spent the past four years in a collective frenzy that Obama wasn't vetted. Not only did your party and it's birther affiliates question Obama's BIRTH PLACE, but you've spent time questioning largely irrelevant details about his time spent in college.
(Note, you didn't care about college performance when electing and then reelecting George W. Bush, now did you?)
So I have to chuckle, as so much energy and hysteria has been spent by your party on trivial matters, when your party suddenly pulls the clumsiest 180 in history whilst defending Romney for keeping his tax returns secret.
Obama's been in the public spotlight for several years now, and even the best Breitbart goons and Drudge druthers have yet to dig up a single skeleton in the closet. You must be livid with the incompetence of the investigators in your party.
But yet... the GOP Investigator in Chief, DONALD TRUMP, says his investigators have evidence that the birth certificate is fake! I beg you to continue down that road.
Your party has spent 4 years whining about college transcripts and birth certificates, yet you think Romney's tax returns don't matter?
No one's buying it. We're just laughing at you.
The Obama campaign has already accused Romney of being a felon,why on earth then would he release his past tax returns giving Obama endless reasons to yet further attack him with.
What we will learn is that Romney is wealthy(the horror)and his army of tax lawyers and accountants have taken every imaginable loophole and advantage in the tax code unavailable to most of us in the 99%.This is not a crime it is the result of the best Congress money can buy.It is not Romeney's fault he is wealthy, so what, being wealthy in the US despite what communists among the Democrats think is not a crime yet.
I don't understand my tax return let alone Mitt Romney's and I would tell the President's campaign (repectfully of course)"to go to hell!"
The fact is the President can't run on his record of failed domestic and foreign policies which have made the US poorer and less safe, so he is going to have the voters believe Romney is a tax cheat.Romney chooses not to give the government more money to waste. FORWARD,really?
If Ann Romney's horse loses they will send it to France for dinner, and it will be on the menu.
NO mention in the article that ALL Mitt Romney's actions were legal.I pay my accountant big bucks to NOT pay more in taxes, and am sure Omamba accountant took advantage of all tax laws. How many years has it taken to get Obamas' birth certificate? The posters who have numbers would do well to post dollars paid in taxes, not percentages, that would be a bit different.. that may show who actually pays more in taxes.
Not a good ad for the Baraka. Reminds people of all the stuff he's trying to hide.
Like his birth certificate.
Or his social security number (issued from CT while he resided in HI).
Or his sealed passport records, medical records, school records (all the way to elementary school) including Harvard, Columbia, and Occidental.
His Illinois Senate records are missing as are his scheduling records from that same time.
Who paid for his University tuition is a secret, but there are indications it was paid by a foreign source. His birth certificate is a phony and his selective service card may have been doctored.
It's estimated that his legal team has spent over $1.4 million to prevent access to any part of Obama's past.
Why? If he's got nothing to hide? Why not, if he's not the man he claims to be, or is just legally unable to be President?
And this guy claims Romney is hiding stuff? How far can his hypocrisy go?
Romney isn't hiding anything more than Obama. If Obama cannot release his certified copy of his birth certificate, why does Romney has to release his tax returns. Obama lying and deceitful campaign is giving the impression that Romney is hiding something, but its just the opposite. Obama is not for the middle class, he allow the middle class to lose ground, and drop into poverty at a higher rate than anytime in our history. Obama is the one raising taxes 25% for all Americans making $200,000 and more, that means 150 million middle class Americans will see a tax increase while the rest of America will not see a decrease as Obama states. Obama is just taking money out of the middle class, those making $200,000 and more cannot afford it any more than a person making $31,000 like myself. They still have to provide for their family's and save for their child's educaiton and their own retirement. Obama says we are all in this together, then Obama why are you making only those who make $200,000 or more carry the burden for the Nation. Only 50% of Americans paid any income tax in 2010, and 2011, that's not fair. The Bush Tax cuts do nothing for me, so I feel alone and your not doing nothing for me. Vote NO for Obama. Obama has not moved Foward since taking office and he is still going backwards.
Tricky Mitt Romney is no different from Bernard Madoff and Tricky Dick (Richard Nixon). For 50 years (half a century since 1960) Madoff was not charged with fraud because of power, influence, bribery= secretly known as not a lawbreaker like Tricky Mitt until he himself confessed. Tricky Dick was never charged and even got re-elected as President because of power, influence= secretly known as not a lawbreaker like Tricky Mitt. Tricky Mitt has not yet been charged of perjury, tax fraud, tax evasion, money laundering,etc. because of power, influence as state governor and mormon bishop and no evidence yet from a whistleblower. Not having hung out with communists did not stop Tricky Mitt from creating jobs in Communist China, bankrupting companies in USA and making thousands of jobless in USA as a consequence.All American voters have a right to examine Shady Mitt's 12- year past tax returns to make sure that he is not a crook like Al Capone, money launderer, tax fraudster or tax evader.After 100 years of unsuccessful attempt, Affordable Care Act is now a law benefiting all Americans and affirmed constitutional by the SCOTUS.
What is Romney hiding in his tax returns?
We voters need to know.
If this wimp has nothing to hide, he needs to
man up and show Americans 12 years of returns,
like his dad and PRESIDENT OBAMA DID.
The Brits are already calling him Mitt the Twit
and Mitt the nit wit.
This guy is one strange dude.
Wow, the nuts are out in force. Full moon aside, if I were Romney I would give the media and most of the commentators the middle finger. He produced two years plus of tax returns. If the governor provided all the tax returns he ever filed in his entire life it would not satisfy the kooks on the left. To bad then Senator Obama didn't get the full anal exam from the media. If so, he would still be in the Senate and we would be stuck with an incompetent and old President McCain.. Kind of a hobson's choice.
And the right-wing nuts are still nuts and still
the minority voter,
THANK GOD.
FOUR MORE YEARS FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!
"It's estimated that his legal team has spent over $1.4 million to prevent access to any part of Obama's past."
Actually, that's not estimated by any REPUTABLE source, JudgeRoyBean, aka Klaus Steinke.
Fact Check:
"WorldNetDaily has noted that FEC filings show that Obama's presidential campaign has paid out more than $1.7 million since the election to the law firm of Perkins Coie. Until recently, that firm was home to Obama's campaign lawyer, and now White House counsel, Robert Bauer--the very same DC lawyer, says WND, who has defended Obama in many of the birther lawsuits. Ergo, WND concluded, Obama must be devoting that entire $1.7 million to crushing birthers in court. This is a ridiculous claim: Even after an election is over a presidential campaign has plenty of need for lawyers as it winds down operations and meets campaign finance law requirements."
DEBUNKED: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2010...
"[Obama's] social security number (issued from CT while he resided in HI)."
DEBUNKED: http://www.thefogbow.com/special-reports...
Sorry to burst your bubble. May want to cut down on that steady diet of conspiracy theory email forwards.
Birthers are allergic to the truth.
Hey Teamster,
Your a real tool the statement you made about conservatives being the minority you should research be for you write garbage.... READ..http://www.gallup.com/poll/152021/conservatives-remain-largest-ideological-group.aspx
obama LIED all the way his two books, Where is obama college transcripts and his student loan records. obama has been on a path of destruction and Romney Record has been as an ongoing USA Citizen.
There is no reason to see more tax returns, They are boring details that will not impact your voting decision one bit. It's just a diversion fot the liberals to get everybody's mind off the lousy job that Obama is doing. Basically, you seen one or two you've seen enough.Shut up and move on!
Thanks, kepi and SickOfSomeOfU. Laughter is what makes the world go round. After all, life is kinda....funny.
In Israel today, Mitt Romney praised Israel's Socialized health care system.
In part he said: "..our (American) health care costs are completely out of control. Do you realize what health care spending is as a percentage of the GDP in Israel? 8 percent. You spend 8 percent of GDP on health care. And you're a pretty healthy nation".
"We spend 18 percent of our GDP on health care. 10 percentage points more."
Israel considers medicine a force to be used for the common good, not an enrichment vehicle for those who manage it.
So - if socialized medicine is such a wonderful thing for Israel, why not America? In Israel, every citizen is entitled to to health care services regardless of pre-existing conditions.
Yet, this is what Romney will eliminate in America if given the chance.
Why does Mitt Romney want America as a "pay our own way" partner in the next Iran-Israeli war? To defend socialized medicine? What is Romney hiding?
Socialism is good for sweden. Socialism is good for Israel. Socialism is good for Canada, Germany, France, etc...but when Mitty gets home it's back to screw John Q Public.
Leverage a buy-out, sell the assets, fire the workers, pay 10% tax on some of the profits, pay gobs to the lawyers and accountants, and go to the offshore bank like business as usual as usual as usual as usury as corporations are people and blah, blah blah
Apparently health care management is more beneficial to his campaign than wellness and health are to Americans.
Apparently the checks and PAC money from wealthy insurance companies do more for Mitty than health care does for Smitty or Jonesy or Jack or Jill.
Obviously the drive for dollars trumps the walk to well-being.
Yep, he's the corporatists' candidate, dog-tied on roof, pre-existing conditions on every corner and big money writing his speeches, setting his stage and buying his power...gang tackling some long-haired guy and whacking off his hair just to make him cry so Mitt could feel damn good about his noble self before he got his daddy to sign off on his 'Conscientious Objector' papers so Mighty Mitt could hang in Europe during the Vietnam War and party. Mighty Mitt, the silver-spooned champion of church-going corporatists, bound for glory. Hallaluya!
Romney asks the American people to trust him that nothing in his tax returns would reveal anything that the electorate needs to know.
Were he running against Ronald Reagan, I'm sure the Gipper's response would be: Trust, but verify.
If it was good enough for the Gipper, it's good enough for me.