Mitt: I Won't Release My Tax Returns

Mitt Romney says that even if he becomes the Republican nominee, he has no intention of releasing his tax returns, reports the New York Times. Romney—one of the richest men ever to run for president—would be alone among nominees of recent decades if he fails to release his returns. If released, the returns would put the spotlight on Romney's immense wealth, and would probably reveal that he only pays 15% capital gains tax on the millions of dollars he makes every year from Bain Capital, the private equity firm he helped found, the Huffington Post notes.

The campaigns of Romney's Republican rivals were silent about his most recent comments on the issue, but President Obama's campaign pounced. "Mitt Romney is defying a practice to which every party nominee, Republican and Democrat, has adhered for decades," the campaign's press secretary said. "Even his father, George Romney, disclosed his tax returns when he ran for president in 1968. Why does Governor Romney feel like he can play by a different set of rules? What is it that he doesn’t want the American people to see?" (More Mitt Romney 2012 stories.)