Why Mitt Romney won't release his tax returns: 6 theories

Skooter reporting 07/18/12

With President Obama's campaign kept pounding Mitt Romney over his personal finances, some Republicans now have joined calling for the presumptive GOP nominee to release more than two years of his tax returns. To not releasing several more years of returns, is crazy and allowing people to think that he has something to hide, William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard said. Why won’t he turn over documents from other years? Here are six theories why?

1. Romney's income might have been extremely high – in 2010 he earned $21.7 million and in 2011, he ran off with $20.9 million, according to John Cassidy at The New Yorker. Cassidy thought Romney may well earned considerable more in earlier years.

2. His tax rate might have been close to zero – Romney might have done something that was sort of under the tree, not in an illegal sense, to bring his tax rate way down, Martin Sullivan of Tax Analysts said.

3. Romney might actually have something to hide – Romney knows withholding his returns is hurting his campaign, Daniel Shaviro at Start Making sense said, so it make sense to assume whatever is in the returns is worse. It is to be remembered the talk about Romney’s Swiss bank account, that there was an IRS amnesty program in 2009 for fraudulent nondisclosure of offshore income.

4. Each return provides a reminder of Romney's Mormonism. Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway said, Romney’s tax returns expose the amount of giving tithes to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His 2010 return, for example, showed that he had given at least $4.1 million to the LDS Church, all of it tax deductible.

5. Romney is just being arrogant – Charles P. Pierce at Esquire, said there is nothing in those tax returns that is in any way illegal. Romney’s high income and low tax rate won’t reveal anything that we don’t know already. He further said everyone knows that “our tax code, and our entire economic system has been gamed to benefit the folks in Romney’s economic echelon.

6. He won't give in to attempts to divert attention from Obama – Bob Webster at WEBC Commentary said there’s a good reason for Romney to say no to release his tax returns and that they are none of anyone’s business. It would be crazy for Romney to give in. Webster added the whole non-issue is intended to be part of a disguise to cover up the gross incompetence of Obama during his four disastrous years in office.
SEE MORE: Did Mitt Romney lie about his tenure at Bain Capital?

AP