Obama campaign calls for 5 years of Romney tax returns as sufficient

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The Obama campaign has called for Romney to release 5 years of Tax Returns to halt the onslaught of Obama attacks on the issue.

Romney campaign apparently contemplating on wether or not to comply.




Obama Aide Says 5 Years of Romney Taxes Would Suffice

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/18/u...ars-of-romney-tax-returns.html?pagewanted=all


WASHINGTON ~ A day after Mitt Romney said that he paid at least 13 percent of his income in taxes each year, President Obama’s campaign manager on Friday said five years’ worth of Mr. Romney’s tax returns would satisfy Democrats.

Jim Messina, Mr. Obama’s campaign manager, offered a deal in an open letter to his counterpart, saying that if Mr. Romney released his tax returns from 2007 to 2011, Democrats would promise not to demand any more.


“If the governor will release five years of returns, I commit in turn that we will not criticize him for not releasing more — neither in ads nor in other public communications or commentary for the rest of the campaign,” Mr. Messina wrote to Matt Rhoades, Mr. Romney’s campaign manager.

Mr. Messina said the offer should satisfy Mr. Romney’s oft-stated concerns that his adversaries will always continue to ask for more and more.
But Mr. Messina pointedly did not promise that Democrats would hold their fire on the contents of the tax returns.


He said a release of five years would “help answer outstanding questions raised by the one return he has released to date, such as the range in the effective rates paid, the foreign accounts maintained, the foreign investments made, and the types of tax shelters used.”



Mr. Rhoades was quick with a response Friday morning, but did not say whether Mr. Romney would commit to a release of any additional tax returns.

“It is clear that President Obama wants nothing more than to talk about Governor Romney’s tax returns instead of the issues that matter to voters, like putting Americans back to work, fixing the economy and reining in spending,” Mr. Rhoades wrote in a response released to reporters.
“If Governor Romney’s tax returns are the core message of your campaign, there will be ample time for President Obama to discuss them over the next 81 days.

The offer came a day after Mr. Romney once again confronted the vexing issue of his taxes, which Democrats have used to portray him as out of touch with middle-class values.


Mr. Romney made the remarks at a hastily arranged news conference at an airport in South Carolina, calling the interest in his personal tax returns “small-minded” in light of the nation’s problems.

Nonetheless, he said that he had examined the last 10 years of his personal tax returns after Democrats suggested that he might not have paid anything at all in some years.

“Every year, I’ve paid at least 13 percent,” he said, referring to his effective federal income tax rate, which is a higher effective rate than most people pay.

Mr. Romney’s decision Thursday to address the tax question appeared to be an off-the-cuff attempt to put the nettlesome issue behind him once and for all.
But at least initially, it had the opposite effect. Democrats seized on his comments to revive the issue and to once again demand proof of his claims by releasing multiple years of his tax returns.


The re-emergence of the tax issue consumed another day of the campaign and added to the sense of a shift in direction for a candidate who had once steadfastly refused to talk about anything other than job losses during Mr. Obama’s tenure, the unemployment rate and the nation’s growing debt.

Now, after Mr. Romney’s decision to name Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin as his vice-presidential choice, the campaign is instead waging an aggressive battle on Medicare, welfare and Mr. Obama’s character.
That change in focus can be seen in the campaign’s ads and in Mr. Romney’s speeches.
And it stands in contrast to the approaches of some Republican Congressional candidates, who said Thursday that they intended to wage their own campaigns strictly on economic issues.

“We are staying on our message,” said Chris Collins, the Republican candidate in New York’s 27th District, near Buffalo. Mr. Collins said that Republicans should welcome the Medicare debate, but that in his own campaign, “every time anything comes up, I bring it back to the economy, the economy, Obamacare.”

Richard Tisei, a Republican running in Massachusetts’ Sixth District, said that for Mr. Romney and Republicans, “ultimately, the campaign is going to be about the state of the economy.”



At the news conference Thursday, Mr. Romney had sought to amplify the Medicare argument he has been making in earnest since selecting Mr. Ryan. To drive home his point on the difference in the approaches to Medicare by the Republican ticket and the Obama administration, Mr. Romney drew numbers on a white board positioned on an easel before television cameras.

It was a moment that delighted aides back at his campaign headquarters in Boston — until Mr. Romney answered a reporter’s question about his income taxes.
For the rest of the day, his statement that he has paid at least 13 percent in federal income taxes over the past decade received more attention than his original statement on Medicare.



Democrats have hounded Mr. Romney for months about his tax returns.
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, has asserted — without providing any proof — that Mr. Romney paid no taxes in some years.

Mr. Romney had already denounced the remarks as false.
But he has steadfastly refused to release more than his full return for the 2010 tax year and a short summary of taxes he paid in 2011.
In an interview on NBC’s “Rock Center” that was broadcast Thursday night, Ann Romney stood by her husband’s refusal, saying that further releases would simply provide “ammunition” for Democrats.

“The more we get attacked, the more we get questioned, the more we get pushed,” Mrs. Romney said.
“There’s going to be no more tax releases given.
Mitt is honest.
His integrity is just golden.”


In an interview last month, Mr. Romney was asked whether he had ever paid a tax rate lower than the 13.9 percent he paid in 2010.

“I haven’t calculated that,” he told David Muir of ABC News.
“I’m happy to go back and look, but my view is I’ve paid all the taxes required by law.”


In saying that he paid a tax rate of at least 13 percent, Mr. Romney and his wife would still have had a higher income tax rate than most households.

More than 46 percent of households did not pay any federal income tax in 2011 because their income was low enough that deductions and credits reduced their bill to zero.
Even a typical household making $100,000 a year would pay closer to a 10 percent average federal income tax rate than a 15 percent rate, Congressional Budget office data suggest.

For many middle-class households, however, other taxes — like payroll taxes and state and local taxes — typically cause their total annual tax rate to rise to 20 percent of their income and higher.
For Mr. Romney, these other taxes most likely had only a small effect on his total tax rate, because much of his income came from investments, which is generally taxed at a lower rate than wage income.


In 2011, Mr. Obama and his wife reported an effective federal income tax rate of 20.5 percent. In 2010, their rate was just over 26 percent.

In the brief exchange with reporters in South Carolina, Mr. Romney used a black marker to sketch out his assertion that the president had cut $716 billion out of the Medicare program “to fund Obamacare.”
But the tax question came a few moments later, and he eagerly answered it.

“Campaigns don’t control their own destiny,” said Dave Carney, a Republican strategist who managed the presidential campaign of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas.
“You can talk about what you want, but you have to be relevant to the ongoing discussion.”




You've lost the Healthcare/Medicare issue by your own (Ryan) un-doing ... so us looky-loos only care about your taxes ...

 

I demand 25 years

I need to be sure that Romney is in fact wealthy and need to re-state it 25 times

People, Romney isn't one of you, he's rich so don't vote for him

Obama is going to give you free stuff so vote for him

But

please do not discuss the economy

 

Are Dems going to this same well again? What, does the need for Biden to get pushed out of the news cycle require a round two for Romney's records? Desperation. Obama, how about you release your college transcripts? Or explain why you claimed to be from Kenya when it suited you then deny it when it does not. Explain why you sold drugs to support your habit. Dope and Chains is for people who are too stupid to know when they are holding themselves back.

 

Romney should come out and make a counter offer to Obummer...."you release your college transcripts, and I will release my tax returns...ok?"

 

That is cool.

As long as Romney demands Obama release all school transcripts from kindergarten thru college.

 

I can't wait. And, he should ask for the passport records for his trip to Pakistan too.

_

 

You know I was actually with Obama when he didn't want to release his transcripts, but if he wants private info from Romney, it's time for Obama to put up or shut up

 

I love the thread. Well if you release these returns, we won't bother you anymore.

That is blackmail. Obama and chicago thug politics.

You know what, how bout we release 5 years, and Obama releases all of his college transcripts, papers and writings.

 

I want to see Barack Obama's tax returns from his college years. I want to see how he paid for college and at what rate. Did he pay as a FOREIGN student rate? Did he de-fraud his colleges? Where did the money come from to pay for those high end Ivy League schools?

Just give me those years.

What I am guessing is that Barack Obama's team, in their Chicago way, have already illegally obtained copies of the last 5 years of Romney's tax returns and it is killing them that they can't use them.

Does everyone remember how Barack Obama got his Senate seat? Do you all remember what documents he had to get unsealed from the courts to get his opponent trashed?

The Chicago Tribune SUED to get the divorce records of his opponent unsealed.

 

I think we all know what's really going-down here ... Obama defining Romney/Ryan and calling the shots for Romney/Ryan on every move ...

... no doubt the exotix gets snickers & chuckles on this (hardass slang'n the (*)(*)(*)(*)) *Bean Bag* politics ...

 

You are clearly living in your own little world.

Right now Romney/Ryan have all the momentum with the stumble Joe and Medicare issues going decidely in their favor. Barack is left with begging and crying for tax returns.... how pathetic and wanting.

This is exactly the race Romney wants and is ecstatic to have at this point.

 

When is Obama EVER going to address the failures of his 3 1/2 years in office? Why does he continue to deflect away from HIS failures of HIS time as president? That is ALL this is about, you know.

As far as what each pays......they BOTH have tax accountants and tax lawyers following ALL tax laws and IRS requirements in completing their tax returns. Romney cannot help it if Obama isn't very frugal with his own money. But then, since he's the same with the American people's money, it is really not surprising.

BTW, Romney doesn't have a salary; he gave up his salary which benefitted his state. Obama has not seen fit to forego his $450,000/yr presidential salary, therefore he's going to pay taxes on it. Even if Romney paid around 13% in taxes....that is STILL far more than most middle income and lower-income people actually pay. That is stated in the OP article.

 

You know who's the most frightened ?

Congressional tea partiers and Bush neocons still in Congress ... the story now, is how many congressional right-wing seats will be lost in November ...

I think you need to wake-up to this fact.

 

To quote another poster on thi ssubject

Romney campaign - Lets talk about the economy

Obama campaign - Look over there a squirrel !

Romney campaign - Lets talk about Medicare

Obama campaign - Hey I want to see your taxes

 

You do realize that in a week ... Romney has changed his medicare story 5 times in schmoozing-up to Ryan ... this is worse than Palin running roughshod over McCain.

 

Does the phrase "pee up a rope" mean anything to Obama?

 

Mitt Romney to Obama Campaign - "Sorry, I don't negotiate with terrorist".

Seriously, who the hell do they think they are to basically say, "If you meet our demands, we'll stop harassing you."

 

5 Years will suffice? boy, thats big of Obama and his team.

Who is going to tell them it's not their call, and what Romney has already submitted will have to suffice?

 

Just In

Offer Declined

http://content.usatoday.com/communi.../obama-offers-romney-a-deal-on-tax-releases/1


Romney declines Obama deal on tax return releases

President Obama's campaign offered Mitt Romney a deal today: Release five years of tax returns, and we'll stop demanding more.

Romney's campaign refused, calling the Obama request a political ploy designed to distract voters.

"It is clear that President Obama wants nothing more than to talk about Governor Romney's tax returns instead of the issues that matter to voters, like putting Americans back to work, fixing the economy and reining in spending," Romney campaign manager Matt Rhoades wrote in a response to Obama counterpart Jim Messina.

In an earlier missive to the Republican camp, Messina wrote: "Governor Romney apparently fears that the more he offers, the more our campaign will demand that he provide.

"So," Messina added, "I am prepared to provide assurances on just that point: If the Governor will release five years of returns, I commit in turn that we will not criticize him for not releasing more -- neither in ads nor in other public communications or commentary for the rest of the campaign."

Replied Rhoades to Messina: "If Governor Romney's tax returns are the core message of your campaign, there will be ample time for President Obama to discuss them over the next 81 days."


In a reference to the first presidential debate on Oct. 3, Rhoades also told Messina: "See you in Denver."

The Obama offer came a day after Romney said he has paid a tax rate of at least 13% per year over the past decade, as reported by Catalina Camia on our OnPolitics blog.

In his letter, Messina wrote that other candidates have released more than five years of returns.
He said a Romney release would "help answer outstanding questions raised by the one return he has released to date, such as the range in the effective rates paid, the foreign accounts maintained, the foreign investments made, and the types of tax shelters used."

Also from Messina:

To provide these five years, the Governor would have to release only three more sets of returns in addition to the 2010 return he has released and the 2011 return he has pledged to provide.
And, I repeat, the Governor and his campaign can expect in return that we will refrain from questioning whether he has released enough or pressing for more


In his reply, Rhoades wrote: "Governor Romney will continue to lay out his plans for a stronger middle class, to save Medicare, to put work back into welfare, and help the 23 million Americans struggling to find work in the Obama economy."


Demands for tax returns have dogged Romney throughout the Republican primaries and the general election.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., amped up the issue by claiming that a "source" told him that Romney has paid no taxes at all in some years.

Romney said, "Harry Reid's charge is totally false," and he doubts anyone told Reid that.


In divulging the 13% figure, the Republican candidate also told reporters that the tax issue is being used to distract people.

"I have to say, given the challenges America faces -- 23 million people out of work, Iran about to become nuclear, one out of six Americans in poverty -- the fascination with taxes I paid I find to be very small-minded compared to the broad issues that we face," Romney said.

 

Obama campaign - Remember illegals...you didn't build that...we did it for you...enjoy it while you can.

 

Romney should do a Brewer and tell ODumbo to F-Off!

 

So liberals are now praising the coward Obama for backing down? Interesting...

 

Crystal clear he doesnt want the focus on himself and his record. Good call by Romney and his team.

Well said Mitt.

 

Don't worry. The American voter is going to tell BOBO and MOO and that French waiter Axelrod were to go in Nov. And MOO can take her riding pony with her. http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=...images/ardennes01.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.di