Romney Not Inclined to Release Tax Return If He Wins Nomination [View all]

[UpInArms]

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-23/romney-not-inclined-to-release-tax-return-if-he-wins-nomination.html

Mitt Romney, a multimillionaire who is by far the wealthiest of the Republican presidential candidates, said he has no plans to release his income tax returns if he wins his party’s nomination.

Romney, whose most recent disclosure in August estimated his personal wealth as high as $250 million, said yesterday he had already released extensive financial information and had no “current plans” to make his tax returns public.

If the former Massachusetts governor wins the nomination and sticks to his plan, he would be one of the only presidential nominees in the last three decades to withhold his income tax return. While income tax information is private and there is no legal obligation to disclose it, presidents and nominees for the office have done so routinely since the 1970s.

“We follow the tax laws, and if there’s an opportunity to save taxes, we -- like everybody else in this country -- will follow that opportunity,” Romney told reporters in Lancaster, New Hampshire, according to a partial transcript of his remarks provided by his campaign.