Mitt Romney doesn't want voters to know what's in his tax returns

Mitt Romney, estimated to be worth somewhere between $190 million and $250 million, asked whether he would release his tax returns if he becomes the Republican presidential nominee:

“I doubt it,” Mr. Romney said, according to a transcript of the interview provided by NBC News. “I will provide all the financial info, which is an extraordinary pile of documents which show investments and so forth.”

“But you won’t do the tax returns?” asked Chuck Todd, host of “The Daily Rundown.”

“I don’t intend to release the tax returns. I don’t,” Mr. Romney responded.

John McCain couldn't remember how many houses he had, but he released his tax returns. Barack Obama released his. But Mitt Romney really doesn't want us to know exactly how wealthy he is, and most of all, though he's campaigning for a deciding role in what tax rates the rest of us will pay, he doesn't want us to know his. It's no mystery why that might be: Since he's still making millions from his retirement deal with Bain Capital, he's likely paying the low low rate available to hedge fund and private equity managers.

Warren Buffett thinks it's not fair for people like him to pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries. Mitt Romney's concern is just to keep secretaries from knowing how much lower his rate is than theirs when he's asking for their votes.