USA: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney comes under pressure to release his recent tax information, as he acknowledges that he pays at a rate much lower than average Americans

Record ID: 347817

  • Title: USA: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney comes under pressure to release his recent tax information, as he acknowledges that he pays at a rate much lower than average Americans
  • Date: 19th January 2012
  • Summary: MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 10, 2012) (REUTERS) MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT, TALKING WITH REPORTERS, THEN PICKING UP BABY ROMNEY SUPPORTERS STANDING WITH "ROMNEY" SIGNS
  • Embargoed: 3rd February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA997RUPC1CUPQ3PUDC6RDSV5C7
  • Story Text: Republican Mitt Romney came under increasing pressure Wednesday (January 18, 2012) to disclose his past tax information after acknowledging Tuesday that his income tax rate is close to 15 percent, suggesting that one of the wealthiest people to ever run for U.S. president pays a much lower rate than most Americans.
    Romney agreed to disclose information about his taxes, and in doing so - his income, but not until April, the deadline when most Americans have to make sure their taxes for the previous year have been paid.
    "Tradition has been the nominee releases his tax returns in tax season, in April, and I know that if I'm the nominee, people will want to see the most recent year and see what happened in the most recent year and see what happened in the most recent year, and what things are up to date - and so they'll want to see the tax returns that come out in April. So, rather than sort of have multiple releases of tax returns, why, we'll wait until tax returns for the recent year are completed, and then release them," Romney said Tuesday.
    The decision to wait until April also drew fire from the Democratic White House and other critics, who said it reflected how Romney, whose estimated net worth is $270 million, is out of touch with the experiences and concerns of typical Americans.
    At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney sounded well-prepared to needle Romney over the tax issue.
    "Obviously we think it's a good tradition, and that's why then-Senator Obama released his tax records going back I think six or seven years when he was a candidate for President in the 2008 election cycle. And I believe -- I think it was a tradition that was initiated by then-presidential candidate George Romney, back in 1968, who released 12 years of tax records in '68, as I understand it," Carney said.
    In South Carolina, where Republicans hold their next primary election on Saturday January 21, analysts say the issue might sway some voters.
    "For some of the Republican electorate, it will be an issue: for those who have already doubted whether he knows 'my pain.' Does he have that ability to empathize with people through this economic downturn that we have been experiencing?" Jeri Cabot, a political science professor from the College of Charleston, told Reuters.
    On the streets of Charleston, some of those preparing to vote in Saturday's "First in the South" primary reacted to Romney's revelation.
    Peter Andre Arguimbau, a student at the College of Charleston who plans to vote for Ron Paul, was outraged at the report.
    "I mean I think it's crazy. My father pays more than that, and my father makes much less than Mitt Romney," he said.
    Joe Engel is a long-time Charleston resident who moved to the area more than fifty years ago. A Republican, Engel said he will most likely vote for Republican presidential candidate New Gingrich on Saturday, adding Romney's tax payments were unfair.
    "It's not fair but he said that's the law, I pay what the law says," he said.
    Matthew Phipps is a 30-year-old restaurant server who voted for John McCain in 2008, but as a Republican, plans to abstain from voting in Saturday's primary and vote for Barack Obama in November.
    He said he was not concerned with Romney's tax rate.
    "If I could pay less tax, I would," he said.
    Since 1980, every winner of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary has gone on to win the party nomination. The southern state has gone for Republican candidates in 9 out of the last ten presidential elections.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register