President Obama’s team is offering Mitt Romney a deal on taxes: Publicly release five years of returns, and the Obama campaign will drop its insistence for additional tax information.
“I am writing to ask again that the Governor release multiple years of tax returns,” wrote Jim Messina, Obama’s campaign manager, “but also to make an offer that should address his concerns about the additional disclosures. Governor Romney apparently fears that the more he offers, the more our campaign will demand that he provide. So I am prepared to provide assurances on just that point: if the Governor will release five years of returns, I commit in turn that we will not criticize him for not releasing more — neither in ads nor in other public communications or commentary for the rest of the campaign.”
The email, addressed this morning to Messina’s counterpart Matt Rhodes, Romney’s campaign manager, stresses that the request is “surely not unreasonable” given Romney’s father made 12 years of tax returns to the public during his presidential run.
Ann Romney on Thursday declared that no further tax returns would be provided, telling NBC’s “Rock Center” that “there’s nothing we’re hiding.” Romney also assured reporters in South Carolina yesterday that he never paid less than a 13 percent tax rate during the last 10 years.
Read the full email below:
August 17, 2012 Matt Rhoades 585 Commercial Street Boston, Massachusetts 02109 Dear Matt:I am writing to ask again that the Governor release multiple years of tax returns, but also to make an offer that should address his concerns about the additional disclosures. Governor Romney apparently fears that the more he offers, the more our campaign will demand that he provide. So I am prepared to provide assurances on just that point: if the Governor will release five years of returns, I commit in turn that we will not criticize him for not releasing more—neither in ads nor in other public communications or commentary for the rest of the campaign.
This request for the release of five years, covering the complete returns for 2007-2012, is surely not unreasonable. Other Presidential candidates have released more, including the Governor’s father who provided 12 years of returns. In the Governor’s case, a five year release would appropriately span all the years that he has been a candidate for President. It would also help answer outstanding questions raised by the one return he has released to date, such as the range in the effective rates paid, the foreign accounts maintained, the foreign investments made, and the types of tax shelters used.
To provide these five years, the Governor would have to release only three more sets of returns in addition to the 2010 return he has released and the 2011 return he has pledged to provide. And, I repeat, the Governor and his campaign can expect in return that we will refrain from questioning whether he has released enough or pressing for more.
I look forward to your reply.
Jim Messina
Obama for America Campaign Manager
Update: Team Romney responds, turning down the offer:
Hey Jim,Thanks for the note.
It is clear that President Obama wants nothing more than to talk about Governor Romney’s tax returns instead of the issues that matter to voters, like putting Americans back to work, fixing the economy and reining in spending.
If Governor Romney’s tax returns are the core message of your campaign, there will be ample time for President Obama to discuss them over the next 81 days.
In the meantime, Governor Romney will continue to lay out his plans for a stronger middle class, to save Medicare, to put work back into welfare, and help the 23 million Americans struggling to find work in the Obama economy.
See you in Denver.
Thanks,
Matt Rhoades
Romney for President
Campaign Manager
Igor Bobic
Igor Bobic is the assistant editor of Talking Points Memo, helping oversee the site's coverage of politics and policy in Washington. While originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor feels best at home on the beaches of Southern California. He can be reached at igor@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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