Obama's campaign is offering to drop the tax issue if Romney releases his tax returns from 2007-2012.
It's starting to crystallize that the reason that Romney isn't releasing his tax returns is probably because in 2009 he became a pardoned felon. Since this information would be on government record, it's perfectly plausible that this information could have been passed on to Harry Reid.
"Pardoned felon" isn't really the right phrase. It's possible that he accepted amnesty for a possible crime for which he was never convicted, prosecuted, or even accused.
The reality is that if Mitt took the amnesty he will never release the returns. If he did, the only chance for Republicans to win this election would be for him to step down and pass the torch to Ryan.
Is there actually any historical precedent for something like that occurring? A party nominating someone who didn't even run in the primary?
I guess it's possible, but I sure wouldn't count on it.
Given that he won't, it's free reign for the Obama campaign to hammer him over taxes for the next three months.
Free REIN. Kings have reigns, horses have reins.
Other possibilities; He received tax credits and paid negative tax, or he paid more in tithing to the mormon church than he did in taxes, and wrote off the tithing as a deduction. Nothing good for Romney can come from releasing the returns.
Well, right, which is why I don't see any need to look for conspiracy theories. Even if everything he's done has been by-the-book, there's bound to be something offensive in there, because the very way the book WORKS is to provide advantages to guys like him.
I know he's got offshore investments. And it's entirely possible he had a Swiss bank account and accepted the '09 amnesty. But absent any real evidence of it, I think there are plenty of simpler reasons why he wouldn't want to put his returns under the microscope.