MITT ROMNEY'S 2011 TAX RETURNS

        Mitt Romney has finally released his 2011 tax returns, and no one is at all surprised by what they reveal. In order to be consistent with his insisting that he has never paid less than 13%, he took less than the full deduction of his charitable donations, knowing he can deduct those unclaimed donations in future years. Had he claimed the full amount of his charitable deductions tax experts are saying his effective tax rate in 2011 would have been under 10%!
        In addition to that maneuver, there were pages and pages of tax shelters and off-shore tax havens. That, too, was to be expected.
        The timing of the release was well calculated to get the thorny topic out of the way now, so that it would not be a distraction in the final month of the campaign.
        The issue may not go away, however, because there are still too many unanswered questions, and Ann Romney’s fear that releasing more returns would only give their opponents more things to attack, was obviously well founded.
             Mr. Romney’s tax returns reveal his character, and his values. While his giving to his Mormon church is commendable, the rest of the picture is not pretty. It makes his candidly disparaging remarks about the 47% of Americans who don’t earn enough to pay any income tax all the more egregious.