http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/54744938-90/romney-says-church-tithing.html.csp

"Mitt Romney says in a new interview that one of the reasons he’s distressed about disclosing his tax returns is that everyone sees how much money he and his wife, Ann, have donated to the LDS Church, and that’s a number he wants to keep private..."

Mormons never want anything they do for good kept private. If Mitt were proud of what he paid in tithing, he would have disclosed THOSE numbers first. My guess is that Mitt cheated on his tithing and the whole world is about to find out. The world won't care but the Mormons will and the church might. But he will probably slide with the church because he's their golden boy at the moment.

The great Mormon unwashed are going to feel differently.

Mormons can't stop crowing about their wonderful charitable works - so when Prince Romney gets bashful (against type), there is a reason ...

I absolutely called this one! I knew he'd revert to this!

We know his approximate net worth, and we can assume he has paid approximately 10%, as a minimum. Nobody needs to know the exact amount.

I believe his net worth is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than what we've been led to believe.

+100

Agree that this is an extremely reasonable assumption given what's been released so far. Nations, er, people with Swiss bank and other offshore accounts usually do so for a reason.

He paid 13% to the government. I bet he paid more than that to the church. That would be embarrassing. Why does the church deserve more of his money than the government?

Pull out your etch-a-sketch. Not long ago, he was asking us to consider how much he had given to "charity" in addition to the taxes he paid.

Now, he really wants to keep that sacred information private.

UNBELIVEABLE! He must think nobody can remember anything.

My comment -- "Sorry, I don't buy his argument. Plenty of Christian churches allow donations to be made anonymously. Besides, Romney's father disclosed his tax returns. "

Why wouldn't he also cheat the church?

Do you have to pay tithing on money you hide in Swiss bank accounts?

Perhaps he paid more in tithing than in taxes?

He just seems so dishonest...and fake...

Dude is embarrassed by his wealth. He doesn't want people to know where he keeps his money and how he spends it because he feels guilty.

It might also be that he is embarrassed that he didn't keep a handle on it. Knowing that he would run for president he could have sanitized his finances for the past six years and made them more palatable for public consumption. He didn't and now he just looks silly.

I completely agree that charitable donations should be kept between you and the god(dess) you believe in. I think even JC said something about keeping quiet about the alms you give, but if the Mittster really believed that, then he wouldn't have told the IRS. This is just another ploy.

hellonwheels has a point here.

It may well be "all of the above"

Paid on "increase" rather than gross.

So your net worth is 75 Million and you increased to 76 Million but deducted the expenses which reduced that increase from 1 Million to $400,000 and you paid 10% of THAT.

Welcome to the land of private interpretations, rich lawyers, no tithing settlement and Mormon Royal Privilege.

Go ahead and pay your puny 10% on your gross. My $40,000 is still a BIG private contribution in my eyes.


Anagrammy

PS. I know for a fact the church has different tithing rules depending on who you are. And they vary WIDELY. For example, my friend and I were both single divorced parents. I had to pay tithing on my husband's child support (which was already tithed on). She did not. Why? Maybe because I was a troublemaker, asking difficult questions and she was a TBM with nary a whisper of doubt.

Some weeks ago he tried to score points by having his wife tell us how much he paid to "charity" (thithes). And now he feels this would make him look bad? Sorry, I don't buy it.

Well Ann explained the problem. Every time they release information about their finances people give them a hard time. Boo Hoo!

a friend wrote this on his FB page:

"Mitt Romney - somone told me he's not worried about showing how much he earned. He's worried that, in past years, he donated to some sorta-liberal causes like PLanned Parenthood, which donation would look bad today Can this be true??"

----------------------------------------------------

All things being equal, which answer is more likely to loose votes?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2012 07:39PM by wine country girl.

his returns would show that he received considerable money from a company taken over by Bain, which disposed of the remains of aborted fetuses.

OR...

That he paid nothing (legally) in Federal Income Tax for one or more years. Which would still be political poison, even if legal.

OR...

That he took advantage of the tax amnesty in 2009 which let those who illegally sheltered monies in offshore accounts make a full declaration and avoid jail time and penalties.

Take your pick.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2012 07:47PM by helamonster.

Post deleted because if I had read to the end of the thread before commenting, I would have seen that Skeptifem had already posted what I said!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2012 09:47PM by jbstyle.

Somehow I got on Romneys e-mail list. I really feel my privacy has been invaded. I have repeatedly responded to the website and informed them I am offended, invaded and please remove me from their list. The response I get is to the effect thank you for your response and we will look into it.

There is no longer an option to provide input to the Romney website. I call this policy "@#$%& rolls downhill."

Tell the truth to us little people:

What does Mrs Romney stand for --every girl should have a pretty pony?
Disclose the tax returns
Disclose the Bain capital financials
Explain how it's legal to have a $100,000,000 IRA. The rest of us can't put more than a few $1000 in each year according to our CPA's
How r your magic underwear working for you?

"What does Mrs Romney stand for --every girl should have a pretty pony?"

<snort>

"My Little Pony"

It's not the 10% that concerns me, it's the 90%.

ST

The part that really makes me heave is where Ann Romney gushes about how much she loves tithing. It makes her cry when she writes the check.

He probably didn't pay a full tithe. Good. I hope he didn't.

There is also no law requiring him to disclose his taxes. Good. I hope he doesn't.

Part of me hopes he doesn't because I feel like privacy is important. I don't have to disclose my tax information to anyone, so I don't think he should have to either. However, if people don't vote for him because he doesn't disclose his taxes, then that is fine. I hope people don't vote for him. I don't vote for him because his policies are trash, he is a social conservative and I doubt he understands the life of a regular American.

My reasons to not vote for him are better, I think. But I might be biased. :)

The other part of me hopes he doesn't release his tax information because I think the secrecy will cause more people to scrutinize him and possibly not vote for him.

That's how I feel about it.

snb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He probably didn't pay a full tithe. Good. I
> hope he didn't.
>
> There is also no law requiring him to disclose his
> taxes. Good. I hope he doesn't.
>
> Part of me hopes he doesn't because I feel like
> privacy is important. I don't have to disclose my
> tax information to anyone, so I don't think he
> should have to either.

I would be a lot more willing to listen to that line of reasoning if the president hadn't been pressured into releasing his birth certificate to appease racist hysteria. The same people telling us all that we don't need to know about mitt romneys taxes see no irony in how their base demanded to see obamas birth certificate (and are generally in favor of laws that require people to prove citizenship to police). Donald Trump is one of these irrational birthers and he gets a front row seat in the romney campaign because of his wealth. If there was a semblance of consistency I could stomach such a defense, but I can't.

I guess there was some controversy about him claiming utah residency on his taxes while running for governor of Massachusetts, and he had to amend the taxes in order to run legally. he did the same "trust me!" bullshit then too. I wouldn't take anything he says about it at face value. Its obvious that it has to be something really bad, for him to endure all this to keep it secret.

Maybe we'll find out more bigoted donations he made (like this one to national organization of marriage for 10K.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/30/1034504/-Mitt-Romney-s-quiet-contribution-to-Prop-8-backers-again-exposes-laxity-of-Alabama-PAC-rules