WaPo editorial: Release the returns, Mr. Romney

[ProSense]

Release the returns, Mr. Romney

FOR MOST AMERICANS, income tax returns are a private matter, and federal law protects that privacy. For those who would be president, a different standard applies. The modern presidency demands so much of one individual — decisions of immense complexity, consequence and difficulty — that the candidates’ characters must be thoroughly examined.

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This is why, as we said months ago, Mitt Romney’s tax returns are important. He has described himself as a successful capitalist who took risks and created wealth, a laudable credential. Voters would benefit by seeing and evaluating the details of that story, including through his tax records.

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On Tuesday, Mr. Romney brushed off demands to make public more tax returns, saying they would be used by the Obama campaign’s opposition research. “And I’m simply not enthusiastic about giving them hundreds or thousands of more pages to pick through, distort and lie about,” he said. Given both sides’ campaign so far, his expectation of distortion may be realistic.

But Mr. Romney surely is capable of responding to any distortions. For voters, the documents are essential exhibits in an application for the presidency. It is insulting to voters for Mr. Romney to keep them under wraps and will only fuel suspicions that he has something else to conceal.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mitt-romneys-taxing-delay/2012/07/18/gJQAitY5tW_story.html

[ProSense]

1. Kick! n/t