Dear Editor,

When a person runs for public office, especially President of the United State, their life should be an open book so that the voting public can know all about the people running.

Willard Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for President, is hiding the ball. He has released only one tax return, 2010, but the forms relating to his Swiss bank accounts were not included. He has not filed the return for 2011, and he refuses to release any returns for prior years.

Romney is reported to be worth 250 million dollars, and his 2010 return shows that he has extensive investments in foreign, dummy corporations, blind trusts, and Swiss bank accounts, intended to avoid paying U.S. income tax. His tax rate was 13.9 percent, while an average middle class person pays 25 percent.

When his father, George Romney, ran for President years ago, George released 12 years of his tax returns, setting a precedent for transparency.

What is Willard Mitt Romney hiding from the American people? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that he has been told by a reliable source that Willard Mitt Romney paid no U.S. income taxes for 10 years. Romney has vehemently denied this. If Romney has nothing to hide, why won’t he release his other returns? Where are the forms for Swiss bank accounts in 2010? All other Presidential candidates since George Romney have released several years of tax returns without question.

When Mitt ran for President in 2008, and for Governor of Massachusetts before that, he played the same “hide the ball” game about his finances. This is not right.

Maybe he hides income so that his ten percent of gross tithe to his church is less.

Willard Mitt Romney is a wealthy snob who represents the interests of the very wealthy few in our country, not the ordinary people. We should show him how we feel when we vote this November, because he is only interested in our vote, not our welfare.

Sincerely

Richard A. Winkler

Rodeo, New Mexico