# Why won't Romney release his tax returns? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 1, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085 "2012-08-01T18:35:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/121 "2012-08-03T19:05:18Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Obama was supposed to be a new, better kind of President. Good thing he has the old scumbags of his party to pitch the sleaze so he can pretend to be above it all. > > Regards, > Shodan Obama foolishly thought that the Republicans would cooperate for the good of the country. Now the Dems are finally fighting back and the bullies, as they always do when their victims punch them in the nose at last, are crying and running home to momma saying it is so unfair. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/122 "2012-08-03T19:10:53Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Why are you distorting what Reid is saying. Here it is, from the link in the OP > Reid is not claiming that he knows Romney paid no taxes. All he is saying that a Bain investor told him this. Even if Reid releases the name, it would prove nothing. If the investor confirms the story, it would just confirm Reid’s statement but still say nothing about the taxes. So don’t claim that Reid is claiming he knows anything about the taxes. > As for Kenya, if Romney release the returns and people start claiming they were faked then the situations would be analogous. Think about that story for a sec. How would a Bain Investor know whether or not Romney paid taxes? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/123 "2012-08-03T19:11:27Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t think that’s why presidential candidates release their tax returns. It’s not to head off accusations they’d done something wrong so much as it is to let people get a sense of their finances and how they make their money and what they do with it. I disagree. I think people are naturally suspicious of politicians finances, that they used their previious positions of power to immorally profit themselves, and so the tradition of releasing returns is to head off accusations of financial misdoings. I don’t think Obama, for example, released his returns because he thought people were interested in his book royalties. > [@](#): > > I’m not expecting people to leave it at that. But Reid didn’t just try to figure it out, he’s making public pronouncements about what he believes Romney did even though we know he hasn’t seen the returns. He repeated a rumour and said he didn’t know whether it was true or not, so your wrong saying he was making a pronouncement about “what he believes”. Reid’s pressuring Romney to release his returns by noting the speculation that’s out there, which is probably the only mechanism of “figuring it out” available to him. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/124 "2012-08-03T19:13:15Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Why are you distorting what Reid is saying. I’m not. I said many times that Reid cited an undisclosed Bain investor as his source. The fact that he’s added “I don’t know for a fact that this is true” really doesn’t matter since he has repeatedly made the accusation and insists it’s credible. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/125 "2012-08-03T19:23:36Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I disagree. I think people are naturally suspicious of politicians finances, that they used their previious positions of power to immorally profit themselves, and so the tradition of releasing returns is to head off accusations of financial misdoings. [Here’s a story about George Romney’s tax returns.](http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitics/why-george-romney-released-his-tax-returns) As far as I know he didn’t make a statement about why he was doing so, but when a reported asked him for his latest tax returns, he initially said no and then offered 12 years of returns. > [@](#): > > I don’t think Obama, for example, released his returns because he thought people were interested in his book royalties. Obama did it because it’s been a tradition for 40 years now. I agree people are suspicious of politicians in general, but I don’t know that that’s where this tradition came from. > [@](#): > > He repeated a rumour He created a rumor. I had not heard anyone say specifically that they had information indicating Romney was not paying taxes, and Reid didn’t treat it as a rumor. A rumor is ‘people are saying ,’ not ‘I don’t know if this is true, but someone in a position to know told me .’ Reid said he had the information from a confidential source that was “extremely credible.” That’s to specific to count as noting a speculation or a rumor. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/126 "2012-08-03T19:35:59Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Reid is not claiming that he knows Romney paid no taxes. All he is saying that a Bain investor told him this. He’s just asking questions! It’s a time-honored tradition. ---
**Author:** ![nogravity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@nogravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogravity)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/127 "2012-08-03T19:43:43Z")
According to the local [CBS News](http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/08/01/harry-reid-gives-mitt-hell/) in Boston, Reid is hinting that Romney is more concerned about his income and his tithing to the Mormon Church. > [@](#): > > That message will not be lost on Romney. If the Bain fortress is not a fortress; if people are talking, Romney knows that trouble lies ahead. > > And the motivation for this leak may not be political. It is likely personal and tied to the Mormon Church. > > Specifically, if Romney was hiding money from the IRS he may have hidden money from his church. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/128 "2012-08-03T19:45:11Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Think about that story for a sec. How would a Bain Investor know whether or not Romney paid taxes? You think they wouldn’t have personal conversations as well as business ones? It’s very possible that Romney would have said that to someone he wanted to bond with who he thought might be impressed by it. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/129 "2012-08-03T19:48:00Z")
> [@nogravity](#): > > According to the local [CBS News](http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/08/01/harry-reid-gives-mitt-hell/) in Boston, Reid is hinting that Romney is more concerned about his income and his tithing to the Mormon Church. Oh no, that might cost him Utah. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/130 "2012-08-03T20:09:33Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You think they wouldn’t have personal conversations as well as business ones? It’s very possible that Romney would have said that to someone he wanted to bond with who he thought might be impressed by it. I barely know you but let’s have some drinks and I’ll tell you how I dress up like a french maid while violating tax laws. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![nogravity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@nogravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogravity)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/131 "2012-08-03T20:13:23Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Oh no, that might cost him Utah. 😉 Would that be the ultimate irony or what. Romney’s not going to take Massachusetts, probably not New Hampshire (where he has a home), Michigan’s still a tossup, California (another home) is out, so I’m sure he definitely thinks that Utah is the one place in the country that’s his for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/132 "2012-08-03T20:16:41Z")
The argument that he’s afraid of the Mormon church finding out that he stiffed them (if that’s true) doesn’t really wash to me. I think it’s far more likely that he’s afraid of what the American people will think when it’s revealed how much money he’s given that church. I’d say that a non-negligible percentage of Americans look a little askance at the Mormon church, regardless of how good of people they are or how much good they do, and may see Romney as being more beholden to that church than they’re comfortable with. Remember Kennedy and the public’s belief he’d be beholden to the Pope? Same thing here. It’s just like with how little tax he’s probably paid. I really, really doubt that he’s done anything illegal with his taxes (except maybe the tax haven thing), and I’m pretty certain that he’s paid everything the tax laws have required of him. That’s not the issue - the issue is that he has (and has made use of) tax dodges that are unavailable to Joe Average, and that’s the political killer here. When a millionaire pays far far less of a percentage of his income in taxes than does the middle-manager making $70K (even though the millionaire probably still pays millions more in actual dollar amounts), that doesn’t play well politically. Especially not on today’s Main Street. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/133 "2012-08-03T20:17:35Z")
Romney is not going to lose Utah unless he cheated the Mormon Church _and_ gets caught cursing on national TV after spilling an Irish coffee on his lap on election day. ---
**Author:** ![nogravity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@nogravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogravity)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/134 "2012-08-03T20:27:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Romney is not going to lose Utah unless he cheated the Mormon Church _and_ gets caught cursing on national TV after spilling an Irish coffee on his lap on election day. I don’t know. There’s an awfully skeevy picture of him out there looking like he’s hitting on Jan Brewer.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/135 "2012-08-03T20:39:28Z")
> [@nogravity](#): > > I don’t know. There’s an awfully skeevy picture of him out there looking like he’s hitting on Jan Brewer.:eek: Any picture of anyone potentially hitting on Jan Brewer would look awful and skeevy. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/136 "2012-08-03T21:47:27Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Obama foolishly thought that the Republicans would cooperate for the good of the country. Now the Dems are finally fighting back and the bullies, as they always do when their victims punch them in the nose at last, are crying and running home to momma saying it is so unfair. If Romney did anything similar, you’d pop a gasket. But, as ever, IOKIADDI. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/137 "2012-08-03T23:11:24Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > If Romney did anything similar, you’d pop a gasket. But, as ever, IOKIADDI. > > Regards, > Shodan Remember the Swift Boaters? Kerry provided plenty of evidence about what really happened. If he had stonewalled on that, or if Obama did it on the birth certificate, I’d have no big problem with the spreading of rumors. All Romney has to do is release his returns like his father and so many others have. Why do you think he refuses? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/138 "2012-08-03T23:15:55Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Think about that story for a sec. How would a Bain Investor know whether or not Romney paid taxes? By Romney saying so. I’m sure that Romney did pay some taxes, btw. (Though if I’m wrong I’ll laugh like hell.) I suspect it is more a case of him doing everything possible to reduce his taxes to the level of noise for his income, which shows he is not one of those “what you can do for your country” types. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/139 "2012-08-03T23:20:22Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > The argument that he’s afraid of the Mormon church finding out that he stiffed them (if that’s true) doesn’t really wash to me. I think it’s far more likely that he’s afraid of what the American people will think when it’s revealed how much money he’s given that church. I’d say that a non-negligible percentage of Americans look a little askance at the Mormon church, regardless of how good of people they are or how much good they do, and may see Romney as being more beholden to that church than they’re comfortable with. Remember Kennedy and the public’s belief he’d be beholden to the Pope? Same thing here. I really don’t think “I gave a lot of money to my church” is going to hurt him with his base or just about anyone, especially since this is expected of Mormons. I doubt he stiffed them either -, he was too high up in the church and I bet they wouldn’t take no for an answer if they wanted to see his tax returns. Maybe, though, if you multiply his donation by 10 it will come up as a lot higher than his reported income. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085/140 "2012-08-03T23:27:27Z")
The very fact that he won’t release his tax returns is becoming a real issue. It has come up in conversation two or three times in the last week among my friends who are remarkably apolitical. This may be a show-stopper. It is rather notable that Mr. Romney’s handlers have not yet stepped up and stopped this from becoming a serious hemorrhage. That is, perhaps, the key question here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-romney-release-his-tax-returns/630085.md?page=8)