Why Romney Might Not Want to Reveal His Tax Returns

Because Romney was Bain, the release of his tax records will expose most of Bain's activities, as well as the activities of other Bain execs.

I have relatives who own a private company like Bain, so I know a bit about how privately held corporations work. My brother-in-law's company runs absolutely everything through the business. They have "stockholder meetings" in Utah during ski season. The company leases "company cars" for teenage children of execs. They have a company-owned chalet in Utah. The company has luxury boxes at pro football and hockey games. They have subsidiaries in Arizona and Florida that they visit during the winter. Flying to and staying in all these vacation destinations is a tax-deductible "business expense."

Many wealthy people freely intermingle personal and business expenses to maximize their tax savings. I don't know exactly what Bain did along these lines, but the potential for savings is astronomical. Depending on how they incorporated, the entire Bain management staff could wind up paying next-to-no personal taxes at all, as well as having the company foot the bill for everything from their cars, houses, clothes, kids' braces and mistresses' apartments. Things that mere mortals have to pay for by themselves.

So even if Romney didn't do anything illegal, releasing his tax records will expose to the world the sweetheart deals that execs get. It will name names and will give investigators thousands of leads to follow up on. Every day after the records are released until the election there will be a non-stop litany about this foreign account, that dummy corporation, this sports car for Tagg leased by Bain, that deduction for Ann Romney's sewing circle.

And it's not just protection from Democratic attacks. Romney's tax records could well reveal many embarrassing facts that will outrage Republicans: he may have donated to worthy social causes that they cannot abide, such as Planned Parenthood.

One commentator I read said a Romney aide intimated that Mitt would quit the campaign before releasing these records. If his tax returns reveal him to be a closet liberal, that would be the smoking gun his conservative enemies could use to deny him the nomination and choose a real conservative instead.