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Friday, Sept. 21, 2012 | 3:40 p.m.
Harry Reid
A summary of Mitt Romney’s taxes over the past 20 years that says the Romneys paid state and federal income taxes each year didn’t cow Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
The Nevada Democrat continued to hammer on the Republican presidential nominee, who is slated to speak in Las Vegas this afternoon, dismissing the summary of tax information Romney released Friday.
“It’s rich to hear Mitt Romney complain about people not paying income taxes,” Reid said on a conference call with reporters, referring to Romney’s secretly recorded comments about the 47 percent of people who don’t pay federal income taxes. “An outline by some accountant about his blind trust? That’s not going to do it.”
Later he said: “He’s hiding something. He’s hiding something! It is so evident he’s hiding something!”
Romney’s campaign released a summary Friday of the couple’s blind trust over the past 20 years. The statement said the Romneys each year owed both state and federal income taxes. They paid federal taxes at an effective annual rate of 20.2 percent, and never less than 13.66 percent, according to the statement.
That would seem to blow a hole in Reid’s claim that started the summer of controversy over Romney’s taxes.
In an interview with the Huffington Post in July, Reid said an unnamed person who had invested with Bain Capital, which Romney used to head, told Reid that Romney didn’t pay taxes for 10 years.
Romney’s campaign Friday also released his 2011 taxes. Filings showed Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, paid $1.94 million in federal taxes on last year’s income of $13.7 million, for an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent, according to the Associated Press.
That marks the second year of full tax returns Romney has released.
But Reid repeated his call for Romney to release full tax returns for at least 12 years.
Romney’s campaign, asked to respond, said: “President Obama’s campaign is willing to say or do anything to distract Nevadans from his failed record on the economy, the housing market and the fact President Obama’s policies haven’t worked.”
The Romney camp also noted that on Friday the state announced that Nevada’s unemployment rate increased in August to 12.1 percent.
On Thursday night, Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said on “Face to Face With Jon Ralston” that no one would make up their minds on the presidential race based on Romney’s tax returns.
“Of course Harry Reid wants to talk about that, because Harry Reid can’t talk about the fact that he’s presided over a Senate that hasn’t passed a budget for three years,” Christie said. “I mean, he doesn’t want to talk about the substance of what affects real Americans’ lives. I do. And so does Mitt Romney.”
Reid, on the conference call with reporters, said of the summary: “A brief outline of his blind trust? Come on. How many people have a blind trust?”
He called it a “kabuki game.”
Ben Labolt, national press secretary for Obama’s campaign, said the summary demonstrates that Romney has the ability to release the returns.
“It’s clear that Romney has 20 years worth of returns prepared, ready to release to the public,” Labolt said on the call. “Instead of providing the rate on tax returns each year, they blended it together over 20 years...I think that’s telling.”
Reid sounds as idiotic as a birther on this issue. Democrats, PLEASE, replace him with Schumer as Majority Leader if you keep the Senate.
Ya lets see some of Harry's returns...NOT he would never give one up even if you let him choose the year. Harry Reid the face of abstraction and corruption. How"s that Ritz Carlton live working for you harry..
What is Lord Reid hiding? How many millions has he obtained by using the influence of his office. Down with the ruling class - Send the Sir Harry's of this nation to jail where they belong. Credit where credit is due - no single person has done more to diminish Liberty, destroy the Constitution, and rape the People of Nevada than Sir Harry!!!
You omitted an important statement attached to Romney's 2011 returns by his trustee Brad Malt:
"The Romneys' generous charitable donations in 2011 would have significantly reduced their tax obligation for the year. The Romneys thus limited their deduction of charitable contributions to conform to the Governor's statement in August, based upon the January estimate of income, that he paid at least 13% in income taxes in each of the last 10 years," his trustee Brad Malt said in a note accompanying the return.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21...
Romney needs to honor his father's tradition of releasing 12 years of tax returns. Romney's father, George Romney, was correct in stating it was too easy to manipulate 1-2 years of returns when he released 12 years of returns in his 1968 presidential campaign.
Good heavens.
How far is Harry Reid capable of bending over?
Maybe Reid will find that "knowlegeable source" that whispered in his ear about Romney not paying income tax.
Hey Bill as soon as Obama opens up his collage transcripts. Ha Ha that will never happen got to love you liberals. You never look beyond the huffington post. Liberalism is a mental Disease.
This return is the same return the republicans have been saying he has already released for months now. You tell em Harry. Show the returns for the past 8 years at least.
It is illegal to pay less tax than you owe. Romney's tax return was falsified. He should pay 9% and he is paying 14% to make his returns fit his previous lies.
Thank you Harry Reid.
Sept. 28!
Mr. Hypocrite himself. Give me a break. How can anyone take our senile senator seriously.
Senator Reid is doing what needs to be done.....
He's staying after Mitt Romney on Mitt's income tax returns..
Let's face it! Mitt would have already released income tax returns for the last 10-12 years if those returns showed what Mitt claims they would show....
Mitt's father, when running for president, released 12 years of his tax returns but Mitt won't do that....
Is that because Mitt has something to hide? Apparently so....
Mitt's a "fat cat" who has done what ever he could do over the last 20 years in order to not pay taxes. Yet he has the nerve to say that 47% of the population of this country are "free-loaders" & pay no taxes....
Talk about being arrogant & out of touch.... WOW!!
Keep up the pressure Senator Reid.
I love to see Mitt squirm & lie about his taxes...
The latest polls show that Mitt is in a "tail-spin." Look for a butt kicking to take place come November..
Four more years for President Obama.....Back to Bain Capital for Mitt....
I don't like Romney, but enough already!
THANK YOU HARRY REID!
YES, romney is STILL HIDING HIS TAX RETURNS!
What is romney still hiding?
He needs to show voters 12 years of returns.
NO MORE LAME EXCUSES!
KEEP GIVING EM HELL, HARRY!!!
Harry, show us the Obama budget you won't let see the light of day. Show us all the taxes you want to raise and the all the tax credits and subsidies the budget is giving to your wall street fat cats
Anyone seen Reid the Red's tax forms lately? He must be in the early stages of Alzheimers he's so whacko. Aren't you leftists tired of his lies and ashamed to be represented by such a fool?
As my being a Latina independent, I'm now on the fence after our Presidents dismal performance on Univision. So Mr. Reid, you still say Mr. Romney is a tax cheat. I would like some semblance of verification of yours and others perspective here so I can do my own investigation. If the IRS or Pricewaterhouse saw anything out of the ordinary in these filings it would seem to me that an investigation would be demanded immediately. It seems with your conviction you will now demand an investigation and I would say it can't come too soon. In the meantime please source or have sourced the material you're basing your statements on. I now need to continue my discovery after this Univision interview, or are you forwarding this type of response just because? Thanks in advance.
Reid is an idiot. I can't wait to vote against him in 2016.
Reid is going "Mormon to Mormon" on Romney, i luv it..
:-)
Reid lied. End of story. Romney did whats needed. Lets talk about the budget.
Romney paid $2MM in taxes - donated $4MM to charity and made $13.7MM - that means he paid or gave away 43% of his income. He kept 57% of his income. Isn't 43% enough?
If Dems really want to rid our country of poverty then the answer is simple. Every citizen should pay the same federal income tax percentage (averaged 20% since 1990), the same state income tax percentage (average 8% since 1990) and donate the same percentage of their income (averaged 14% since 1990) as Mitt did and we would eliminate poverty. That's it. Simple. Everyone should just do what Mitt did and we would rid the country of poverty.
Until you pay 43% of your income in contributions and taxes then keep quiet. Obama and Biden weren't even close to these numbers. These tax returns are EXEMPLARY. We all should strive to be so generous. Let's see two years of Reid's taxes. He thinks Mitt should give 12 years, all I ask is that he gives us 2 years.
Romney shouldn't be worried about the voters and his taxes; he needs to worry about the LDS who want their take. Reid is just looking out for the LDS and wants to make sure Romney is not skimming the house.
Anybody who has not decided who they are voting for in November should nat be allowed to vote. Or drive a car.
So antigov is that your rule about undecided voters? Boy these Dems sure do know how to tell you what and what not to do.
NEVER TRUST A LIAR AND A CHEATER LIKE ROMNEY. The fact that Romney has been hiding his millions, if not billions of dollars offshore in tax haven countries in order to evade taxes for 29 years since his having founded Bain Capital in 1983 prove him to be not patriotic, if not technically a traitor. Romney had gotten away with prosecution for perjury by Securities and Exchange Commission to qualify as governor due to power, money and influence, has avoided prison and prosecution for tax fraud and felony tax evasion in having accepted the IRS Tax Amnesty deal, among other crimes and misdemeanors yet unprosecuted due to insufficient evidence. "Birds of a feather flock together," goes the saying. Having already shown his true colors in sync with obstructionist House Speaker John Boehner, and Ryan's budget plan to privatize Social Security, voucherize Medicare and end Medicaid, Romney has been obsessed and preparing since 1993 to be president and determined to buy the presidency at all cost, at our expense, with the backing of 32 billionaire donors (bribes) into his campaign of mass deception. Romney and Ryan do not have honest and ethical bones in their bodies. In any way, shape or form, Romney, tax dodger extraordinaire and deceitful,lying Ryan, both crooks and rotten to the core, cannot be trusted and are not fit to be president and VP respectively.
If the Romneys paid an unreasonably low rate of taxes on their substantial income, that shows that the law is bad. If, however, they failed to pay what the law requires, that says something about them. Consider the following:
This is the critical question: Did the Romneys get amnesty from the IRS in 2009? To my knowledge, the Romneys have not been directly asked this question.
What we know:
1. Romneys had a Swiss bank account in 2009.
2. Bank was UBS.
3. UBS, after being fined $780,000,000 by the IRS for conspiring with its depositors' to conceal taxable income, released to IRS the names of 4,700 Americans with UBS accounts.
4. IRS offered amnesty to Americans with unreported foreign bank accounts in March 2009.
5. In 2009 IRS received approximately 30,000 requests for amnesty from Americans with foreign bank accounts.
6. The penalties for foreign account tax evaders who failed to obtain amnesty were draconian.
7. The Romneys have not released, for any year, their FBAR Forms which provide detailed information to the IRS regarding foreign bank accounts.
What we do not know:
1. Whether the Romneys asked for amnesty.
2. Whether there is any other compelling reason for refusal by Romneys to produce the 2007, 2008 and 2009 tax returns and their FBAR Forms.
3. Why Romneys closed UBS account after UBS was caught.
Jim Beatty