Despite repeated requests, Mitt Romney has only released his 2010 tax return and an estimate for 2011. Romney and his wife paid an effective rate of 13.9 percent in 2010. Their adjusted gross income was $21.7 million for that year.
The reason it is so low is that it is mostly based on investments. The Romneys' holdings include an undisclosed amount of funds based in the Cayman Islands, a historic tax haven. He also had a Swiss bank account that was closed in 2010, when an investment adviser told him it could be politically embarrassing.
President Barack Obama has released 11 years of tax returns. Romney's father released 12 years of tax returns when he ran for president.
Romney has said that he will release his 2011 tax return but hasn't said when he will do so. Maybe he will release it the night after the election, after voting has ended. Who knows what that tax return will reveal.
Voters have a right to know the character of people running for office, which can be revealed in their tax returns.
I think it deplorable that Romney is using so many tax loopholes while so many people in the U.S. are suffering economically.
Mary Sue Matthews
Kihei
