I think that Romney’s Hayekian modesty probably makes him immune to attacks on his vulture capital ways, but in a normal world, it would be striking that a man is running for president in part so that he can continue to give him and his company a big tax break:
We talked last week about Mitt Romney’s decision to keep his tax returns hidden, despite the fact that every major-party nominee in the post-Watergate era has released their tax records. Romney’s position has already generated some pushback from Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, and if Romney wins the GOP nod, Democrats will likely keep this going.
It’s worth noting, however, that Romney isn’t just being secretive for the sake of secrecy — there’s a good reason he’s rejecting transparency. Alec MacGillis flagged this Boston Globe piece, which suggests Romney is, in fact, paying a lower tax rate than nearly everyone else, which probably has a lot to do with his campaign’s decision.
In case anyone needs a refresher, there’s a tax loophole on “carried interest” — sometimes called “the carry” — that taxes private equity and venture capital income at a lower, 15% rate, as compared to 35% on ordinary income. Hedge-fund managers and the Wall Street have fought tooth and nail to protect this loophole — even after the Obama White House tried to eliminate it — and so far, they’ve been successful.