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They've provided no real proof that they actually have the tax returns. I'd be surprised if this is genuine.
by splatzone 14y ago
They've provided no real proof that they actually have the tax returns. I'd be surprised if this is genuine.
- debacle 14y agoIf it is genuine, then the Romney campaign has proof.
- readme 14y agoIf it is genuine, I don't know why they think they'll get away with it. Also $1M is way too low of an amount to blackmail Romney for. Talk about selling yourself short.
- debacle 14y agoYes, the low amount is what makes me suspect that it's fake. If this were real, and the true aim was extortion, we would have never heard about it.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- cpeterso 14y agoPerhaps the blackmailers assume they are more likely to get money from people who want the records revealed. 1 million people could pay $1 each, Kickstarter-style.
- MartinCron 14y agoI would gladly pay a dollar (or donate to a charity of Mitt's choice) to have him release the records, just so we could move past them and try to talk about something of substance for a while.
- scarmig 14y agoEh, I'm not sure. It's pretty clear what's in Romney's returns at this point (a lower than average income tax rate, though it's hard to say whether it's closer to 5% or 15%), so I don't see a huge downside risk for him in them being released. If they upped their demands to, say $10 million, we're talking about real money, even for Mitt. Enough to get an extra percent of the vote or so in a moderate sized state. Unless there's something genuinely illegal in the returns, a couple days of renewed interest in them might be preferable to giving up a bit of money at the margin (though, paid media is fairly well saturated now, so it might not be that useful). From Romney's point of view, too, there'd be no guarantee that paying 10 million would prevent them from being released. There's no accountability for the Anonymous. With 1 million, though, it's just a no brainer. That said, I doubt they have anything. Reeks of BS to me.
- MartinCron 14y agoHe has recently insisted that he's never paid less than 13%, so if it comes out as less than that, he might have a huge political problem. For the record, I don't think he's lying about that, he seems far too smart to set up a trap like that for himself.
- scarmig 14y agoI recall it being couched in words about overall tax rate, though, not income tax rate. Which would give him enough wiggle room if push comes to shove.
- evan_ 14y agopaying the ransom is just as bad, since it confirms that there's something worth covering up.
- twoodfin 14y agoA quick point and a theory: First, it's not true that the average American pays 15% in income taxes. An typical family in the middle of the income spectrum pays about 5.6%.[1] As far as Romney's returns go, I have a hunch that the political problems wouldn't be in the numbers, but in something like his charitable giving, of which there's an awful lot. What if one of the church programs he gave to turns out to have had some politically incorrect pamphlets, for example? Suddenly he'd be in a position to have to defend everyone he'd ever given $1 (or more likely, $10,000). [1] http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3151 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3151
- svachalek 14y agoSeriously, who else immediately thought of Dr. Evil demanding "one MILLION dollars"? Makes a good story but sounds bogus to me.
- atlbeer 14y agoFor me the telling thing is the "1040" bit. I'm no billionaire but, even my meager tax return is more than a simple 1040 form.
- arjunnarayan 14y agoyeah but the critical figures people want, including the sum total of tax paid is on the 1040.