Romney says he will release no more than two years of federal tax returns

Mitt Romney on Friday said he will release only two years of tax returns.
 
“We’ve complied with the law,” Romney told CNN. “The law requires us to put out a full financial disclosure. That I’ve done. I know there will always be calls for more, people always want to get more, and, you know, we’re putting out what is required plus more that is not required, and those are the two years that people are going to have.”
 
{mosads}“That’s all that’s necessary for people to understand something about my finances,” Romney added.
 
Romney gave interviews to three broadcast networks, along with CNN and Fox, on Friday afternoon, as his campaign scrambled to address questions over his tenure at Bain Capital.
 
Romney’s personal finances have been spotlighted by the Obama campaign, as evidence that Romney is out-of-touch with the middle class and hiding things from the American public.
 
Obama in interviews has urged Romney to release his returns in order to be “an open book” with voters, and the campaign has released ads toward the same purpose, often referring to a report that Romney had offshore holdings in the Cayman Islands.
 
Democrats have also pointed to Mitt Romney’s father, George Romney, who released 12 years of tax returns when he ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968.
 
Romney on Friday said the president is just trying to draw attention away from his record.
 
“Look, if people believe this should be a campaign about attacking one another on a personal basis and go back to the kinds of attacks that were suggested in some campaigns in the past, I don’t want to go there,” Romney said. “I want this to be a campaign about the direction for America and about who can get America working again and who can rein in the excessive deficits that you’re seeing in Washington.”



“The president, apparently, is not ready for an honest and important debate about the future of America,” Romney added.
 
The topic of Romney’s taxes flared up during the Republican primaries. Romney filed a financial disclosure form showing that he is worth up to $250 million.
 
Democrats have used their push for the Buffett Rule, which states that wealthier taxpayers should pay a rate at least as high as middle-class taxpayers, to highlight Romney’s wealth and effective 14 percent tax rate.
 
Romney pays a lower tax rate because most of his income is capital gains, which are subjected to a 15 percent tax rate.