The 2012 presidential campaign appears to me to be one of the more unusual ones in modern times. Yes, both President Obama and Mitt Romney offer us (and the media) plenty of material to criticize and question. But "strange" may not be just the right way to describe Romney's reaction to questions about his finances. "Elusive" doesn't quite cover it either. What I mean is this: We have a person running for President of the United States who can't seem to answer pretty straightforward questions about his sources of income (how about applying some "birther" skepticism to his finances!). David Kay Johnson recently suggested Mr. Romney answer (at least) the following questions (see here):
"1. Did you buy any illegal or gray area tax shelters?
"2. Did an IRS audit ever uncover serious problems with any of your tax returns?
"3. Did you make use of offshore vehicles to defer, or avoid paying, federal income taxes?
"4. Did you take advantage of any tax strategies that the IRS did not uncover in audits?
"5. Did you fully tithe to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints every year and take a deduction on your tax return that shows
that?"
Add to this the fascinating story in Vanity Fair (see here) by Nicholas Shaxson which thoroughly describes the, well, strange world of Romney finances. It appears he learned the lessons of "off-shore" accounts and the use of "tax havens" well while at Bain. Of course, Mr. Romney has repeatedly said all this is legal. I'm sure it is, but we could use a little data here.
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