Congress Shares Romney's Reluctance to Reveal Tax Returns

First Page of Mitt Romney's
2010 Federal Income Tax Return
(from Washington Post)

There's little doubt Mitt Romney has screwed the pooch on his tax return release. The feeling the presumptive GOP presidential candidate has something shocking to hide just won't go away.

Ironically, some of Romney's harshest Congressional critics have also avoided sharing their tax returns with the voting public. According to a story in today's online edition of The Miami Herald, virtually no member of Congress will offer a detailed revelation of their tax history. The laws regarding Congressional tax transparency are unsurprisingly opaque. They effectively make it difficult to determine what areas of the tax code a House representative or US senator might be sensitive to.

Some of the Democrats' loudest anti-Romney voices hide behind these convenient laws. Among them are Nancy Pelosi, whose husband is a significant Bay Area venture capitalist and real estate owner. Another is South Florida's Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee's chairwoman.

Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat who is not seeking re-election, stated the matter in bitter terms.  "'First your publishers and editors and execs should publish their tax returns. They have great influence over public policy,'" he suggested. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for a GOP House member from South Carolina complained that reporters were not demanding Barack Obama's college records. Some people just don't get it.

The response from Senator Jay Rockefeller's office was characteristic of the attitude of the nation's 100 senators and 535 congressional representatives: "Thanks, but we will not give you Senator Rockefeller's tax return. Good luck with your project."

Luck you, too, senator.