October 2, 2012

 Washington, D.C. -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) released the following statement today after an investigation by the New York Times exposed former Governor Mitt Romney's use of offshore tax havens and loopholes in the United States tax code.

“Today’s report proves that nothing Mitt Romney says about taxes can be taken at face value.  Instead of owning up to his use of secret offshore tax havens in places like Bermuda and Switzerland to enrich himself, Mitt Romney parsed words to try and convince the American people that he did not benefit from these havens – when in fact, he appears to have made millions from them over the course of his career.

“This is the same pattern we have seen from Mitt Romney when it comes to his tax plan: instead of respecting the American people’s intelligence by offering facts and straight answers, he and Paul Ryan have offered nothing but evasion, dissembling and half-answers.

“Congressman Ryan even went so far as to claim that he couldn’t provide details about their tax plan because he didn’t have the time. With the fiscal cliff fast approaching, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan had better find the time to provide some real answers to the American people about how they would approach tax reform.

“Mitt Romney could clear up these issues tomorrow if he would simply release his tax returns and release the details of his tax plan. Instead, he's asking the American people to just trust him. Mitt Romney does not seem to understand that trust is earned – and not by playing shell games with the American people.”