As is the fact he has a 100M IRA (how is that even possible) and other juicy tidbits.

The bottom line he is won’t release his returns, and the only logical reason he won’t is that the damage he would sustain by doing so is greater than the damage he is already sustaining from keeping them secret. We can speculate on what the damaging information is – the Swiss Amnesty program fits the fact pattern – but whatever it is, it must be catastrophic.

And this is going to be an anchor around his neck.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/07/choose-your-own-romney-tax-return-adventure/54755/

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/experts_best_guesses_on_romneys_swiss_bank_account_1.php

They include your theory (that Romney received amnesty from the IRS), but don’t seem to think it is the most likely explanation.

Link to discussion of third amnesty program this year which references the 2009 program which was the first one: http://financialadviserblog.dowjones.com/blog/stay-ahead-of-your-clients/new-details-on-amnesty-for-overseas-savers

It’s getting air play on liberal propaganda sites already It makes sense, however, as it explains why the 2010 return is not complete and why he is so adamant against releasing returns during a period he KNEW was going to be scrutinized.

Do you have any links to support this? We should try to get this out on the intertubes.

It’s pretty clear why Romney won’t release his tax returns.

Remember, Romney he was actively running for president in 2007 and 2008, and he KNEW he was going to be running in 2012. That means it’s nearly certain those years should be able to withstand scrutiny. So why not at least release the last 5 years?

Because on October 15, 2009, this happened: “Wealthy U.S. taxpayers, concerned about an Internal Revenue Service crackdown on the use of secret overseas bank accounts as tax havens, are rushing to meet a 10/15/2009 deadline to disclose those accounts or face possible criminal prosecution. The concern was triggered this summer when Switzerland’s largest bank, caught up in an international tax evasion dispute, said it would disclose the names of more than 4,000 of its U.S. account holders.

The decision shattered a long-held belief that Swiss banks would guard the identities of its American customers as carefully as they did their money, and it raised concern that other international tax havens might be next. Under an amnesty program, the IRS is allowing taxpayers to avoid prosecution for having failed to report their overseas accounts. As a result, tax attorneys across the nation have been besieged by wealthy clients who are lining up to apply even though they will still face big financial penalties.”

We KNOW Romney had money in Switzerland – he has said so himself. Therefore, the logical conclusion is that Romney doesn’t want people to know he was intentionally (and illegally) hiding money from taxation in Switzerland. There is no criminal prosecution because the IRS granted an amnesty, but it WAS ILLEGAL – and he knew it.

No wonder he is keeping them a secret – releasing them would destroy his candidacy.