2002.
The year he gave paid extra property tax to the State of Utah to the tune of $54,000.
He lived in Utah at least through March/April ----- on March 19, 2002, he was a declared candidate in Massachusetts. The Democrats accused him of being ineligible to be Governor in June 2002 (due to three years of Utah residency to run/manage/lead the Winter Olympics). On June 25, 2002, Electoral Commission in Massachusetts deems Romney an eligible resident.
In November 2002, Romney is elected.
As a matter of law, Romney filed Massachusetts State Income Tax Returns for 2003 through 2007. The 2002 tax rate in Utah was 7% after passing a base income level (about $8,000) and in Massachusetts was 5.3%. So you file in Massachusetts, right?
Maybe not.
Utah allows you to take 75% of the federal standard deduction. It has an aggressive deduction for persons with disabilities. Piker stuff really.
The best part is this....you can deduct 50% of your federal tax burden off of your Utah tax bill. No, really.
Say you paid, 15% on an income of $2,000,000, maybe a small salary from Bain and another small one from the Olympics (he made $1.4 million over three years ostensibly which was donated to charity ---- what charity is another question). You paid at most $300K to the IRS and you get to deduct $150K from your Utah taxes or most likely $0.
It gets better; under Massachusetts Income Tax law, the deduction for busines and trade deduction had a maximum deduction of $24,000. The deduction under Section 179 quadrupled and was indexed for inflation after he became Governor (its now more than $125,000)
Utah looks pretty good in 2002. So you lost that property tax deduction to run for Governor of Massachusetts, we still love you in the Beehive State, how about $0 in state income taxes? Plus you can also file a part time resident return in Massachusetts.
Did he file in Utah or Massachusetts, or New Hampshire or California or elsewhere? I think the answer is exactly why Romney won't release his taxes, especially not 1999-2002, because thats where the trail gets hot.