Top Ohio Romney Surrogate Says: Mitt, Release MORE Tax Returns

COLUMBUS – Yesterday, the top in-state surrogate for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney agreed with Democrats that Romney should release additional years of his tax returns.

State Representative Jay Hottinger (R-Newark) said,  “I’m glad that Governor Romney’s gone forward and has at least released this [tax return], and hopefully he’ll step forward and be able to release more [years of tax returns].”

These comments were made on Ohio Public Radio in response to a conference call organized by the Ohio Democratic Party in which former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland called on Governor Romney to follow the example set by his father George Romney and release 12 years of tax returns.

“We’re glad that the Romney campaign’s most outspoken Ohio supporter agrees with us that Mitt Romney should release additional years of his tax returns,” said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Seth Bringman. “From just one year of his tax returns, we have learned that he pays a tax rate that is dramatically lower than middle-class Ohioans, that he holds a Swiss bank account and that he holds investments in the Cayman Islands. State Representative Hottinger is right: Ohioans deserve to know more from a candidate for president who lined his pockets by outsourcing jobs, bankrupting companies and laying off workers.”

Hottinger is the latest in a series of top Romney supporters to call on him to release his tax returns. That list includes: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown.

Today, Romney released tax returns for one year only, showing that he made $21.7 million in profits from investments in 2010. He paid an effective tax rate of 13.9% – much less than tax rate of an average Ohio family. He has thus far failed to follow his father’s lead by releasing 12 years of tax returns and when he was asked in a debate if he would do so, he responded, “maybe.”

The limited information Romney released shows that many of his investments are located in Luxembourg, Ireland and the Cayman Islands, “all famous tax havens,” according to the Washington Post. Romney’s tax returns also show that he has a Swiss bank account.

On yesterday’s conference call, Governor Strickland put the tax returns issue in context:

“Mitt Romney has waged his candidacy on his experience in the private sector. But the truth is that he spent his time in the corporate world bankrupting companies, outsourcing jobs and laying off workers to line his own pockets. He put profits over people during his time as CEO of Bain Capital… And during his campaign for president, he has made clear that if elected, he would stand up for big corporations and the wealthiest among us… What Mitt Romney doesn’t understand is that economic inequality in our country is a real problem.”