2012 Presidential Election, Tax Return | featured news

Ann Romney says the family gives 10 percent of its income to the Mormon church and he took no salary during his four years as Massachusetts governor. She says that should be enough to put aside people's concerns about his finances.

Gov. Rick Perry joined one other Republican governor and several GOP advisers in saying presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney should release his tax returns because transparency works best. “I’m a big believer that no matter who you are or what office you’re running for, you should be as transparent as you can be with your tax returns and other aspects of your life,” Perry said.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) "flatly rejected" to Politico the assertion that he didn't pick Mitt Romney as his running mate in 2008 because of what he saw in his tax returns. Said McCain: "Oh come on, because we thought that Sarah Palin was the better candidate. Why did we not take Pawlenty, why did we not take any of the other 10 other people. Why didn't I? Because we had a better candidate, the same way with all the others... Come on, why? That's a stupid question."

It wasn't just Obama, though, pushing the presumptive Republican nominee to put the issue of his tax returns to rest. "There is no whining in politics," chided John Weaver, a veteran Republican strategist. "Stop demanding an apology, release your tax returns."

Likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney says he'll only release to the public one more tax return – and not until his accountants complete it. Romney tells CNN he's complied with the law by filing a financial disclosure statement.

Romney, by receiving much of his income in capital gains and dividends and giving millions of dollars to charity, is certainly able to keep his effective tax rate relatively low, especially compared to a wealthy person who earns much of his or her income in salary. But, even so, Romney still pays an effective tax rate that is higher than the tax rate paid by most Americans.

President Barack Obama called on likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to release more of his tax returns, in an interview with Univision released on Saturday.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich beat his main GOP presidential rival, Mitt Romney, to the punch by releasing his most recent tax return. But Gingrich still hasn't revealed how he earned most of his $3.1 million.