Mitt Romney released his 2011 tax returns after stating he would do no such thing. (davelawrence8, Creative Commons)

Romney’s aides explained that the decision to release the summary was made to support Romney’s assertion that he had never paid less than 13 percent in taxes in the past 10 years. Another reason for the decision was to, according to Politico, “quell what aides believe would be a constant request for information about the former Bain Capital head’s personal finances.”

In response to the release of the tax returns and summary, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stated:

“The information released today reveals that Mitt Romney manipulated one of the only two years of tax returns he’s seen fit to show the American people - and then only to ‘conform’ with his public statements.”

Representative Sander Levin (D-MI), member of the House Ways and Means committee, stated:

“The American people deserve more than a summary of Gov. Romney’s returns filtered by his campaign. Gov. Romney clearly has his old tax returns at the ready, so why does he continue to hide them from the public? Gov. Romney seems to believe the American public should hold him to a lower standard than he holds his own vice presidential nominee — who was required to turn over 10 years of tax returns — and lower than the tradition of previous presidential candidates.”

Democratic strategist Jonathan Prince stated:

“My initial reaction to it is, once again, the Romney campaign wants the worst of both worlds. All the summary does is raise lots of questions on what the summary hides. At the same time, it completely left everyone hungry for more.”

 

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