Folks, this is important: Romney has not released a SINGLE COMPLETE TAX RETURN YET.

[stevenleser]

It's really important that we get that message out there.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2012/0922/Romney-tax-returns-What-s-missing-in-his-report

That's right, not many people get that, but he has not released a single return that contains all of the information he is required to send to the IRS.

"What’s missing, tax experts say, are the details of Romney’s retirement account from Bain Capital, including investments in offshore accounts in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands."

Romney should not be allowed to get away with this. No one who is running for President should be allowed to get away with this.

Please kick, rec and spread far and wide.

[Nevilledog]

1. Kick

[BlueCaliDem]

2. K&R! eom

[femrap]

3. Do we ever get to

see what Charities he contributed to? They must be listed in his tax return somewhere.

And I hope that everyone knows that after Nov. 6, 2012, Rmoney can amend his tax return for Charitable Contributions and claim the entire $4 million instead of the $2.25.

Yep, I want to see the Foreign Investments....that's part of the Tax Return, right?

And those 'Blind Trusts' Rmoney talks about....they are run by his personal attorney....get it? Client-Attorney confidentiality. They're about as 'blind' as The American Eagle.

K and R

[watrwefitinfor]

7. Are all the charities listed? Were his donations

all to his church?

Wouldn't it just be funny if some were to the Romney "non-profit" super-pacs?

Wat

[femrap]

25. ...

Last edited Wed Oct 3, 2012, 10:49 PM - Edit history (1)

[JackHughes]

52. "Charitable" super-PACs

Good point. Some Super-PACs -- like Rove's Crossroads GPS -- are organized as "charitable, public service" organizations with zero public reporting criteria, meaning donors can be completely anonymous.

Romney's "charitable" deductions could have been entirely comprised of political donations to buy TV attack ads.

[defacto7]

17. Should be at least 10% of his gross receipts to the Mormon Chruch

or he looses his salvation.... He'll need to come back in another life and try again.

(a little snarky, but basically true)

[RevStPatrick]

4. You know, I frankly don't think it's the least bit important...

He's not required to release anything about his taxes or income.
Not at all required.
Of course he can, and he will "get away with it."
He also will never get elected president.

Releasing one's taxes is a tradition, nothing more.
Ironically, it's a tradition that was started by his father in order to show that he would have no financial conflict of interest, were he to be elected president.

And I'm sure that is not at all lost on Romney.
And he still won't follow the tradition.

What does this say?
I think it speaks volumes.
It say that he knows that he would have a financial conflict of interest were he to be elected president.
That, right there, should be, and frankly is, enough for most people who aren't already going to vote for him.

I think it's fine to keep pounding him about this.
But it's not a real issue anymore...

[stevenleser]

10. This is different from "He hasn't released enough of his returns" and I think the difference is

important. I dont see many folks talking about this. He hasnt released a single complete return yet.

If we could only start getting people talking about it, I think it would be a big deal.

[fun n serious]

28. It is very important...

It shows he does not pay his fair share of taxes so he is a fraud. This is Theft! Its a crime. He is defrauding our country of way more money than anyone recieves on food stamps. He is a Theif and a liar.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

35. Legal avoidance of taxes is not theft

The laws need to be changed.

[pangaia]

37. True, I guess

but I would still say he is morally a thief.

[Bluenorthwest]

48. And we know it is all legal, how exactly?

We don't even know if he faced giant fines, penalties, we do not know if he took part in Amnesty programs for those who did use illegal methods of evasion.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

49. I'm speaking in general terms

Regarding the offshore accounts, etc. There is nothing illegal that I'm aware of in sheltering money in the Cayman Islands.

If there was something illegal, then he should be prosecuted. My point is there is lots of "OMG, he used tax shelters to evade taxes", with the implication being that it's somehow illegal. Using legal means to pay less taxes is not tax evasion.

[felix_numinous]

5. Could he get in trouble with the IRS?

That would be an early holiday gift for us.

[stevenleser]

8. We dont know what he disclosed to them (the IRS). That is one of the questionmarks.

And is one of the items posited for why he won't release that portion of his return to the public.

It would be too much risk that someone who might know what accounts he had would blow the whistle and say, "Wait. I know Mitt has account X at Bank Y in the Caymans and I dont see that listed.

Of course, we dont know whether that is in any way the case. There are a lot of legal and embarassing reasons for why Mitt isnt releasing that info.

[6000eliot]

6. His supposed release of his "tax returns" is as bizarre as anything else he has done

in this campaign. It's unbelievable that the media is reporting this as a legitimate thing. It has MAJOR DISHONESTY written all over it.

[morningfog]

9. This could drive his tax rate far lower.

[stevenleser]

11. Exactly. If he has omitted accounts that would have shown earnings of some sort.

It definitely would do that. It would also be tax evasion.

Of course, its possible that everything he submitted was complete and correct and contains no embarassing info.

Somehow, the lengths he has gone to omit complete information exclude that possibility as far as I am concerned.

[silvershadow]

12. K&R

[Spitfire of ATJ]

13. What he released isn't necessarily what he actually filed.

[stevenleser]

16. Exactly. That's another issue. But at least with the list of accounts, if he releases a false list

either incomplete, or incorrect data, he would have to fear that someone who knows about those accounts might blow the whistle.

No one would know the details of line 456 of his IRS forms though, to your point.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

21. Another thing is when they say "This is what he owed" could be before deductions.

[WillyT]

14. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[lexw]

15. So true.

A tad off topic:
I remember back at the beginning of 2012, when Romney said he wouldn't be releasing his taxes until November (I believe it was). I recall some of the press saying politicians have the choice of not releasing taxes, and seemingly standing behind him. At the time I was hoping it wouldn't end there; and now it's most definitely become his Achilles tendon—although, now I think Romney is the GOP's Achilles tendon. Doh!

[Tanuki]

18. It sounds as if the Mormons expect him to pony up 10% of everything, even offshore accounts

and other earnings that aren't taxable under US law. He therefore appears on the surface to be super-generous in that his church giving amounts to more like 30% of his supposedly taxable income, and to cap it all off he gets a big tax break for it. As others have pointed out, if he had not actively manipulated his returns in an election year, his federal tax burden would have only been 9%, far less than many of the 47% he insulted.

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. yup. Thanks for reminding us

[red dog 1]

20. WikiLeaks...We need you!

[central scrutinizer]

22. The ones he has released are recent enough that they can be amended

when nobody is looking. Let's see ones that are final!

[Curmudgeoness]

39. Excellent point. And I bet

that is (when) he loses this election, this return will be amended to add all those charitable deductions that he did not take as well as who-know-what-else. Tax experts are already saying that he would be at about 10% or less if he claimed all that he was entitled to take.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

50. Lose? He will amend it whether he wins or loses

Or, he may already have sent in the amendment. No way for us to know.

[silverweb]

23. K&R

[HooptieWagon]

24. Today's headlines...

"Romneys release tax bill" in the Tampa Bay Times, followed up by a bunch of sloppy reporting from the AP.

[KT2000]

26. K & R n/t

[liberal N proud]

27. But he has done just enough to buy the media's rhetoric.

[DeSwiss]

29. K&R

- And the Mittster is the cherry on top of this insanity.......

[ProSense]

30. Mitt Romney Taxes For 2010 Not Fully Disclosed (July)

Zach Carter
Ryan Grim

Mitt Romney Taxes For 2010 Not Fully Disclosed

WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney has not released his full tax records from 2010, including key documentation connected to his Swiss bank account.

Although President Barack Obama and an increasing number of Republican politicians have called on Romney to release tax returns from years prior to 2010, the public criticism has so far failed to note that Romney has not disclosed all of his tax documents for 2010 itself -- the only year for which the GOP presidential nominee has presented any final tax forms.

Romney released his 2010 tax return in January of this year, a document that first informed voters about the existence of his Swiss bank account and financial activities in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. But people who own foreign bank accounts are required to file a separate document with the IRS that provides additional details on such overseas bank holdings, and Romney has not released that form to the public.

The Romney campaign did not respond to HuffPost's request to view the document.

Tax experts say it is almost certain that Romney did file the form, known as a Report on Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or "FBAR" in accountant slang. The penalty for not filing an FBAR can be severe, and the IRS would have expected to receive the form since Romney listed the Swiss bank account on his tax return. Listing the account on his tax return and then failing to file the subsequent FBAR would have been asking for a hefty fine, and would probably have heightened IRS scrutiny of prior tax filings.

- more -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/18/mitt-romney-taxes-2010_n_1683084.html

[stevenleser]

32. Correct, and he did the same exact thing with the 2011 return he supposedly just released.

He refused to list the overseas accounts in either return and thus, as I have asserted, he has not released a single complete tax return yet.

We have to make sure this story gets out there.

[Cha]

43. Thanks for the link, ProSense.. I'm glad

Griim and Carter are on this.

We know that anytime mitt can choose a more nefarious way of doing anything he will go there.

[Barack_America]

31. Where he has his money could affect his foreign policy...

...for one. So we absolutely need to know in which countries he has invested.

[Cha]

44. Thanks for REminding us, Barack America!

[hwmnbn]

33. K&R

[grasswire]

34. you can ask his trustee questions by e-mail

They provided an e-mail address to use if you have questions about the taxes.

[e-mail]

His trustee's name is Malt. Mr. Malt. He has managed Mitt's affairs since 2003.


I wrote to ask if the Romneys have ever asked for amnesty from the IRS.

[amuse bouche]

36. I would love to know

how he can have 100 million in his IRA? I thought the limit was 6K a year

That would make him more than 16,000 years old

[Curmudgeoness]

40. I would love to know also, for another reason.

The "value" of the IRA can be well above the invested amount, since earnings on the IRA are also added. But I would love to know what he is invested in that gives that kind of return on investment.....I am in the wrong investment.

[TXDemoGal]

38. +1,000

Turn over the forms, Mitthead!

[Tigress DEM]

41. No really. That's ALL there is (in this set of books - wink wink, nudge nudge. Know what I mean?)

[Cha]

42. I got it..'cause I've read

certain articles that have explained it. But, there so many that say.."he's released just one year"..and I wonder where they get that from? If they've investigated themselves or just being lazy?

Thanks Steven Leser. For the link, from C.S. Monitor

In any case, Stanford University law school professor and tax law expert Joseph Bankman told the Associated Press, "It's the Bain years we'd really need to know to have a full assessment of his tax strategies." Releasing details for 2010 and 2011, Mr. Bankman said, "only raised these questions, but they can't provide real answers."

Sen. John McCain (who required far more tax information when he was considering Romney to be his running mate in 2008), called it “an incredibly detailed look at his finances.”

McCain is such a Tool..no wonder he chose palin..he wanted to win no matter what.

[maddiemom]

45. Glad I'm not the only one who's noticed this.

We've had some doozies run for president, but Mitt has got to be the biggest phony/hollow man that ever was. The craziest thing has got to be that his primary competitors made him look good. Republicans: GET A GRIP or die out! Who in their right mind would bitch about the 47% not paying taxes while hiding their own?

[spanone]

46. K&r...

[closeupready]

47. K&R

Major.

On a side note, I want to point out how valuable I am finding DU to be in this election particularly.

I have had several discussions with friends and acquaintances and even family members about this contest, and for the first time in years, I have actually been able to counter untruths and misleading RW propaganda confidently, and win over people who were on the fence. If it weren't for much of the stuff I find here on DU, I wouldn't have been able to do that.

So thanks for posting this fact, the sort of thing like eyeglasses which 'you can't find but which is right under your nose'.

[skeewee08]

51. K&R

[bagimin]

53. k&r