Keywords or Terms: Romney’s Tax Plan; Tax Papers; Foreign
Accounts; Tax Policy Center; Mitt Romney: Cayman Island and Swiss Bank Account;
American Corporation
“Bain Capital is one of the world's leading private,
alternative asset management firms whose affiliates manage approximately $65
billion. Our principals are the largest single investor in each of Bain
Capital's funds, which aligns the interests of the firm with our investors and
the long-term objectives of the management teams.” This is a direct quote from
the home page of a company once managed by the presumptive Republican Nominee,
Mitt Romney. No one is begrudging the wealth of this company and hardly anyone,
is interested in another American Corporation falling through the cracks;
rather, we will all like the private equity firm to continue to do what many
American Corporations do: make gazillion dollars! Interestingly, the wealth of
Mr. Romney, which is probably in a blind trust by now, is intricately tied to
the future success of this equity firm.
With the ambition of Mr. Romney for the White House’s oval
office, there are taxpayers who will like to know when Mitt Romney actually left
the reigns of the alternative asset management firm? While some taxpayers are
inquisitive about whether the asset management firm sent some American jobs
overseas during the convoluted reigns of Mitt Romney, a few like me really just
wants to know: if the potential ‘President Romney’ actually failed to pay taxes
on his income, just like the law of the land demands; and, which many of us in
the middle-income group have acceded to without complaints or refusal to
release our tax returns.
This new interest comes out of two main concerns: 1) the
allegation that Mr. Romney once held foreign bank account(s) in Switzerland and
the Cayman islands and 2) the assertion credited to an anonymous source of
Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, a fellow Mormon: that Mr. Romney failed to
pay or took advantage of loop holes in the tax codes to avoid paying taxes to
Uncle Sam. These are very serious allegations, if true; for, I could remember
that Vice-President Spiro Agnew in 1972 had to resign from office due to issues
of tax evasion. For those of you who are old like me, who actually experienced
the disdain Americans had for tax dodgers, it is not uncommon or unusual, for
many of us to demand, not call, that the Republican flag bearer for the 2012
General Elections, releases at a minimum seven years tax returns, this is the
threshold that the Internal Revenue Service requires in an audit.
Understandably Mr. Romney is not going through an imminent audit; however, he
is seeking to be the boss of the Internal Revenue Service and other federal
agencies, that is why he has to follow the law and accommodate this demands of
tax payers who are very concerned about the recent allegations and assertions from
as high up as the leader of the Senate Majority.
For those of you who are saying, why are we so nosy? Why are
we so interested in Mitt Romney’s tax albatross? Well, we are because Mr.
Romney’s proposal for a tax cut come January 8, 2013 under his potential reign,
has been researched and documented by a non-partisan group, Tax Policy Center, and found to be disadvantageous to the
largest group of workers in America.
It is assessed and projected to shift eighty-six billion dollars away from hard
working people of America;
and make some of them pay close to $2,000 in extra taxes. According to the Tax Policy
Center, Mr. Romney’s plan
or proposal is more likely to raise taxes on middle and low income earners,
exacerbate our national debts and plunge the economy into further abyss while
compounding the national problem of unemployment and deficit. For those
Republicans, who continue to criticize President Obama for tripling our
national debt due to fiscal policies pursued to correct for Republican
President Bush’s indiscretions, it is important that taxpayers demand for
answers regarding Mr. Romney’s plan and his his taxation issues. It is also a time
to call a spade a spade; and, not continue to allow ourselves to be hoodwinked
by the rich among us and their surrogates.
True, we don’t want to go into debts to fight unnecessary wars;
we are also, uninterested in cutting taxes for the wealthy, so that the
helpless and disadvantaged groups among us, can continue to go without a meal
or health care; just for the rich to afford a bigger yacht, extra country club
passes for their mistresses and an extra roulette watch for junior; who can
barely spell: forbearance! President Obama, called for the rich to do their
fair share to rebound the economy by paying extra in taxes if they make more
than a quarter of a million; many republican lawmakers find that intolerable
and so, voted against the proposal when put to vote in congress. Interestingly,
one policy adviser, who is said not to have been authorized by Mr. Romney’s campaign,
released an email to the press that indicated that the expected economic growth
from the proposed Romney’s tax plan was not accounted for in the Tax Policy
Center assessment or evaluation. One is apt to wonder, if a man is not
authorized by a campaign team to talk on its behalf, why is the individual part
of the policy campaign team; and why on earth, has he released an email he is
unworthy of backing? If in reality, the policy analyst is not authorized to
speak on behalf of Romney’s camp, then, his assessment is not relevant to the
debate. We must therefore default on the assessment of the Tax Policy Center, as correct and complete; if not
the gold standard henceforth.
It is not just enough to dispute findings of the Tax Policy
Group, it is imperative that the Presumptive Republican Nominee releases his
tax filings for seven years, at minimum, for us to know how transparent he is
going to be if we ever vote him into office. Some republicans think it is
strange that Mr. Romney’s taxation record is being hounded by many
Independents, Centrists and Democrats. Someday, we may be able to write into
our laws that any aspirant for the highest office in the land will be required
to release tax filings for a better part of fifteen to 20 years, to be above
board. The truth is: we cannot afford having someone lord it on us, if he or she
is actually not following decency; and probably, a justifiable request from
other tax payers. We cannot be accommodating a former resident of Utah who
carpet bagged to become a former governor of the State of Massachusetts; and,
who promised to get back to the press regarding the inadequacies in his
residency status about a decade ago; who is now making a shudder for the
request of his tax filings beyond one or two years he has promised. The United
States of America is not a banner republic and no one, must treat this great
nation shoddily. If Mr. Romney thinks we are all fools, he must think again!
The fundamental difference between President Barack Obama
and Mr. Mitt Romney is: BO is honest enough to tell the world that one of their
own, a privileged man with over 250 million dollars in assets, must be made
accountable on issues of a tax plan and taxation. It may seem complicated for
the former Chief Executive Officer of Bain Capital to stomach, but no one
invited him to run for the White House; he chose to do so; and, must be willing
to take the heat, it is just part of the territory. The taxation that fuels a
double trillion economy comes out of sacrifice and forbearance of many;
including some of our heroes and their families, who are bearing the brunt of
the foreign wars that America has been engaged in the past decade or more. If
Romney wants to talk tough on Iran
and make promises to take America
to war, if necessary, he must be willing to pay for it; and one of the first
step of doing that, is paying taxes and remaining transparent about the
process.
Arguably, the new call is coming out of concern for the
nomination process. If Republicans are slow to resolve this apprehension or
concerns from Americans regarding Romney’s taxes, we may end up having to deal
with a fracas at the Republican convention regarding his status as the
Republican flag bearer; a situation that many Republicans will tell all of us
is untidy. The taxation plan was part of Romney’s campaign to replace president
Obama; how can that be, if he is not upfront with his own record of tax payment
and a proposal he is advancing as the panacea to America’s sluggish economy. Why
must we get into a drag out, to get a presumptive leader of a major political
party to be transparent on an issue as simple as a tax records? Is the nation
expecting too much from someone, who is aspiring to be the leader of the free
world?
The answers to all these questions rely on what Mr. Romney’s
does henceforth on the issue of releasing more than one or two years’ tax
filings. Although it is his prerogative to do what is decent and right by the
Republican Party; however, if he refuses, he is probably going to be hounded
more than before as we get closer to the November elections. If you slow the
process of coming clean, there are ways that the truth jumps out of the clouds
of lies. Conspiracies have been known to arise from a politician failing to
come clean immediately there are questions regarding personal behavior or a
burning issue; and, most politicians who have been in the shoes of Mr. Romney today
will honestly tell him to release the tax papers; and, let the wind blow where
it may. The difficulty of holding back what Mr. Romney may be considering as a
burning stick may end up being the rabble rouser within his own political
party! A word is sufficient for the wise!
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