Romney: Dems would 'distort' tax returns
(CNN) - Mitt Romney continued to stress Tuesday that he has no interest in releasing more tax returns, saying it would provide "hundreds of pages" for opponents to "distort" and turn into attacks against his candidacy.
"In the political environment that exists today, the opposition research of the Obama campaign is looking for anything they can use to distract from the failure of the president to reignite our economy," Romney said in an interview with conservative news outlet National Review Online.
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He continued: "And I'm simply not enthusiastic about giving them hundreds or thousands of more pages to pick through, distort, and lie about."
Romney has already released his 2010 tax returns and an estimate for 2011, with a pledge to release his full returns for last year once they're ready. He filed an extension with the Internal Revenue Service, meaning he may not put out his returns until the October filing deadline.
President Barack Obama's re-election team and top Democrats have been pounding Romney over his tax documents, calling on the presumptive GOP presidential nominee to make public more returns in order to answer questions about offshore accounts and overseas investments.
Defending Romney on a conference call earlier Tuesday, former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu said each year of Romney's tax returns is about six inches thick. He added if Romney released a dozen years of documents, as some Democrats have would like, then "that'd be about six feet of returns in which they could find whatever...they want to use as a distraction."
Asked why he has not disposed of his offshore accounts, Romney reiterated Tuesday his portfolio is managed in a blind trust that makes it impossible for him to know where his money is invested.
But the former Massachusetts governor did not hesitate to defend offshore investments, specifically naming accounts in the Cayman Islands, one of the countries in which Romney is reported to hold money.
The Republican candidate said the account is established by a U.S. firm to allow "foreign investors to invest in U.S. enterprises and not be subject to taxes outside of their own jurisdiction."
He added: "So in many instances, the investments in something of that nature are brought back into the United States. The world of finance is not as simple as some would have you believe. Sometimes a foreign entity is formed to allow foreign investors to invest in the United States, which may well be the case with the entities that Democrats are describing as foreign accounts."
- CNN's Rachel Streitfeld and Kevin Bohn contributed to this report.
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Sensibly wrote:
And so remind me again, public disclosure of 12 years of Romney's tax returns is relevant for exactly what reason?
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Because Romney has credibility rating somewhere between "no way" and "no how".
A Trade is in order..........Romney's tax returns for Obama's college records.......then both sides can try to muddy the water even further, and the American people will be able to decide which person is more honest and authentic.......
Oh, I take that back! Romney has showed us that he's a master of circular talk & flipfloppery! He's adept in those areas! Sorry, didn't mean to Distort his greatest accomplishments!! Forward-Obama 2012!
This guy doesn't like pressure.same reason he quit as the governor of mass.
Rick santorum was right, romney it's the worst republican to nominate. They thought he was crazy.
Romney just want that position not the job.
California projected:
NBC has already been not only proven liars but they admit it themselves. Their racist distortion of Zman's 911 tapes is a prime example of how demcorats distort the truth.
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Proven liars. Do you remember Mitt Romney's first anti-Obama commercial? The one where he's quoting John McCain, but the ad makes it seem that the video clip was recent, and he was speaking for himself. The Romney campaign was proud of the deception, despite the volume of criticism over it. In fact, they're still running it on the web.
.....so what are you mitt licker going to do with yourselvs when Obama HAS HIS SECOND TERM....you need help packing
Canada is calling ya.....oh they don't want any fool who votes for mitt....try mexico they dont care–oh sorry just heard they do care ya can't go there either
Obama 2012
Jon, it would be nice if we could talk about real issues. But between Romney and Obama, all we will hear are attacks. Unfortunately, Obama has the benefit of having ideas on the table. Mitt has none. Well, outside of his tax plan that can't be rated as it is incomplete and Ryan's plan that has been rated as epic fail.
NBC has already been not only proven liars but they admit it themselves. Their racist distortion of Zman's 911 tapes is a prime example of how REPUBLICANS distort the truth.
Waitaminute. Jeff Inmelt is a republican and voting for Romney?
You folks just lost another talking point. I've said Obama is playing chess while republicans are playing tic-tac-toe. Now it's more like republicans are having trouble coloring inside the lines.
California, you're an idiot!! Take a look at yourself. You probably don't want the government telling you what to do and you probably don't like big governmenet. At the same time you are probably on welfare or SS and you are telling everyone else how to live their lives. This is what you and your party are all about!!
Oh yeah – blame not releasing your tax returns on the dems. What a coward. Do we really want someone with a spine in the white house? Stop crying about everything and release your tax returns. American's need to have all the facts to make an educated guess.
"Dems would distort tax returns."
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Mitt Romney is kaleidoscoping on this issue again. (spin masters call it 'refining the message')
If he had nothing to hide, he would show his returns JUST LIKE HIS FATHER SAID A CANDIDATE SHOULD. It is hurting him to not release the returns, so his team must know there is something in the returns that is even more damaging. Probably something that disqualifies him from being President. I mean, the birthers should already be all over Romney since he wasn't born on U.S. soil so by his own admission Romney doesn't qualify for what birthers think is a "natural born citizen". The evangelicals shouldn't vote for him because he's not a "real" Christian. Now the business types shouldn't vote for him because it would be foolish if they didn't do due diligence and have a look at his tax returns. CEOs are required by most every company to disclose tax returns before being appointed (to make sure their income isn't from a rival or something illegal) so why shouldn't the CEO-in-chief have as high a standard?
Show us your papers Robmey, and please don't forget your long form birth certificate. Remember your own words Mittens...... What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. No one has to distort anything. This man has been running for POTUS for years and couldn't even beat whalin Palin for a VP spot. Don't be scared Will Mittens Robmey, just do the right thing.
OBAMA 2012!
"many of which everyone except president Obama and the Dems in the Senate agree with like a reforming on the tax code. "
"Reforming the tax code" is not a policy...it's a generalized concept. Mittens has said, however, that he'd cut everyone's atxes by 20% and increase defense spending and "close loopholes"...although he's refused to EVER identify even one loophole he would like to close (beacuse he likes them and they're all over his tax returns)...and a few other somewhat broad brush strokes that might qualify as "specifics." However, the TAx POlicy Center has already said that the "specifics" he has provided, the extent he has provided them, would balloon the national deficit by $900B by 2015 and add over $3T in debt over the next decade. Mittens has no real solutions and the only thing "proven" about his "policies," such as they are, is that THEY DO NOT WORK.
Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Obama campaign will turn them into something ugly even though they be as pure as Snow White.
the call for transparency will be RELENTLESS until he gives in.....the American people have the right to see what he "seemingly" is hiding, and if the tax returns are clean, as he states, he has nothing to worry about.........he is the only one that can end this and he is making a huge mistake by dragging it out.