Delaware Democratic Party

For Immediate Release January 25, 2012 Contact: Sarah Rivin 302-328-9036  

Delaware Democratic Party Still Seeks Answers From Romney Ahead Of April Primary

(WILMINGTON, DE) – Even though Mitt Romney released his 2010 tax returns and a projection of his 2011 income tax report this week, he’s got a long way to go before he’s actually honest with the American people.  The Delaware Democratic Party repeats its request for Romney’s financial disclosure ahead of the April 24^th presidential primary.   Even Mitt’s father, as a presidential candidate himself, released 12 years of returns.  His reasoning?  “One year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show.”   We know he has possession of 23 years worth of tax returns from when he was vetted as a vice presidential candidate in 2008 by John McCain.  Now he’s released only 1 year of information to the public – and that tell us the real story.   His tax forms show he’s hand bank accounts in Switzerland, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands – known offshore havens where the wealthy can keep their cash tax-free.  And Mitt Romney only closed the Swiss account in 2010 after an investment advisor told him it could be politically embarrassing. (Reuters, 1/24/12; The National Journal, 1/24/12)   Romney’s missing 21 years of tax records are also of particular concern because he has hidden what he paid in taxes, and what he acquired in mass fortune, during his time as a corporate raider for Bain Capital.   “The bottom line is that Delawareans deserve to know the whole story ahead of the primary in April,” said the Delaware Democratic Party Executive Director, Joe Aronson.  “We need to know more about Mitt’s investments and his business decisions, especially because he’s one of the wealthiest candidates for president in history.  In a time when careful financial management counts for everything, we have to be able to trust our president to make important decisions that will determine the direction of our economy.   “It’s also worth looking at the bigger picture, here.  Can we expect hardworking people to find nothing wrong with Romney’s tax rate of just 13.9% in 2010?  I think we should expect people to see a flaw there.  His tax rate is about half the rate most middle-class Americans pay.  And under Mitt Romney’s proposed tax plan, his tax rate would actually go down.  That’s just absurd.  Romney clearly doesn’t understand what our families need and he’s certainly not going to make decisions that work for us.”  

###