Romney tax-mania grows

What's odd is that Romney doesn't seem to realize that he's already lost this battle.  It's only a question of time, and his returns will be released.  But by dragging it out, he's inflicting maximum damage, and that doesn't even include what may, or may not, be damaging in the returns themselves.

First, the Boston Globe reports on the ever-growing number of Republicans calling on Romney to release his returns. Keep in mind that the Republicans are like sheep to the slaughter - they always line up dutifully, all in unison, on any and every issue. Yet on this one, they're falling apart at the seams. That's an indication of how bad this has gotten for Romney,

The list of prominent Republicans advising Romney to give up earlier tax returns includes Representative Ron Paul and Governor Rick Perry, both of Texas; Haley Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chairman; and Senators Charles Grassley of Iowa and Johnny Isakson of Georgia.

“Politically, I think that would help him,” Paul told Politico on Tuesday. “In the scheme of things politically, you know, it looks like releasing tax returns is what the people want.”

Conservative journalists such as Post columnist George Will and Weekly Standard editor William Kristol are also urging further disclosure.

“He should release the tax returns tomorrow. It’s crazy,” Kristol said on “Fox News Sunday.” “You’ve got to release six, eight, 10 years of back tax returns. Take the hit for a day or two.”

Next up, Ryan Grim and Zach Carter over at Huffington Post report that Romney has not, in fact, released all of his 2010 returns - the only returns to date that he claims to have fully released.

Romney released his 2010 tax return in January of this year, a document that first informed voters about the existence of his Swiss bank account and financial activities in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. But people who own foreign bank accounts are required to file a separate document with the IRS that provides additional details on such overseas bank holdings, and Romney has not released that form to the public.

The Romney campaign did not respond to HuffPost's request to view the document.

Tax experts say it is almost certain that Romney did file the form, known as a Report on Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or "FBAR" in accountant slang. The penalty for not filing an FBAR can be severe, and the IRS would have expected to receive the form since Romney listed the Swiss bank account on his tax return. Listing the account on his tax return and then failing to file the subsequent FBAR would have been asking for a hefty fine, and would probably have heightened IRS scrutiny of prior tax filings.

Prize quote:

For individuals seeking to game the U.S. tax code, Swiss bank accounts are only useful when used illegally.

Oh, and Romney is whining again, via the Chicago Trib:

"This idea of criticizing and attacking success, of demonizing those in all walks of life who have been successful is so foreign to us we simply don't understand it," Romney told a townhall-style meeting.

No, what's foreign to us is paying only a 15% tax rate and hiding our money in Swiss bank accounts.

Oh, and having a home that's so large that even your car has its own elevator is also pretty foreign.

Yep, Mitt Romney, nothing foreign there: