August 3, 2012

Washington, D.C.- With Governor Romney visiting Nevada today, Senator Reid released the following statement:

"Today, the most secretive presidential candidate since Richard Nixon is coming to Nevada, asking to be elected president. Forget about president - Mitt Romney couldn't get confirmed as a cabinet secretary. Every single nominee overseen by the Senate Finance Committee has to release more tax returns than Romney is willing to release. The contents of the one year of returns he has released would probably be enough to tank his nomination anyway: secret overseas bank accounts in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands, tax avoidance tricks and a lower tax rate than middle-class families pay.

"Romney's tax plan is even more insulting to Nevadans than his belief that he's above basic scrutiny. His plan is simple: he'll cut rates for millionaires like himself, and pay for it by raising taxes on middle class families like you. In Nevada alone, more than 1.2 million families could face a tax hike under Romney's plan, with the average middle-class family seeing their taxes rise by $2,000.

"In short, Romney's message to Nevadans is this: he won't release his taxes, but he wants to raise yours.

"It's hard to say which is more insulting to Americans' intelligence, Mitt Romney's tax plan or his refusal to show the American people what's in his tax returns. Romney seems to think he's above the basic level of transparency and openness that every presidential candidate has lived up to since his father set the standard in 1968. Thumbing your nose at the people you're asking to vote for you won't fly in Nevada, just like it won't fly in the rest of the country."