Romney’s tax returns provide ammo for his opponents

Finally, grudgingly, Mitt Romney has released his tax returns for the last two years. After much um-ing and ah-ing — and a lot of prodding from Democrats, Newt Gingrich and the media – he has disclosed that he paid $3 million in tax on his 2010 income of $21.7 million, and $3.2 million on the $20.9 million he made in 2011. Romney hoped that releasing this information would allow him to move past the focus on his financial affairs, but his rivals – both inside and outside his own party — don’t seem prepared to let that happen.

The Democrats are naturally keen to emphasise both Romney’s large investment profits – they show he’s ‘out of touch’ with average Americans, they say – and the relatively low rate of tax he pays on them. The latter provides them with a perfect opportunity to keep the former in the spotlight while pushing Barack Obama’s long-held policy aim of raising taxes on high earners.