Forum Post: Romney Tax Returns '98-'01 -- Perjury, Fraud & the Mass. Ballot Law Commission

When Mitt Romney ran for governor in 2002, he swore under oath that he had been a resident of Massachusetts for the constitutionally required seven consecutive years prior to taking office. That is required in the Mass. constitution.

Romney is quite the ideal for a do-it-my-way outlaw candidate. Good for animal abuse, hate-crime assault on a gay student, and this combination of perjury and multiple municipal tax frauds. The perfect right wing bully-boy.

If Mitt Romney's declared residence on his 1998 to 2001 Federal 1040 forms (filed in 1999 to 2002) lies outside of Massachusetts, then Mr. Romney broke the laws of Massachusetts. He lied about it, repeatedly, during his 2002 sworn deposition before the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission. He signed sworn statements with direct perjuries.

This is perjury. Not a step short of it.

We knew Romney was smarmy. He ran money through a Swiss bank account.

We knew The Mittster had 137 tax-cheat accounts set up in the Cayman Islands for scams related to Bain Capital.

Now, researched recently, it comes out that Romney declared himself a resident of Utah in 1999 to 2001. His actions included applying for and getting a Utah driver's license. He and his wife also took tax deductions totaling $54,000 based on this Utah residency.

He kept signing various Utah forms as a resident of Park City, Utah. Along with voter registration, this raises a question, boys and girls:

Which state did Romney list on his 1998-2001 Federal tax returns ?

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That Federal declaration explicitly asserts a "true, correct" name and address under penalty of perjury. No wonder Romney has hidden his Federal tax returns. He took money off his municipal Utah taxes as a legal resident at exactly the time he was running for governor of Massachusetts.

-- His tax accountant had to sign off on the filings for 1998 to 2001.

-- Federal law is explicit on residency determinations. Every 1040 has the same address lines. They have to be filled in.

-- The tax forms for Utah signed by Romney include the specific declarations of residence, signed by Romney and by his preparer.

-- If Romney signed as a resident of Utah while filing Federal forms in Massachusetts, then he was a tax thief. (Later changes to Utah records have been substantiated. These efforts are clumsy.)

-- If Romney signed as a resident of Utah while filing Federal forms in Utah, then he committed election fraud and perjury in Massachusetts in 2002.

Declaring a dual-state residence was and is illegal in Massachusetts and in Utah for purposes of driving, taxes, and participating in elections.

Romney testified under oath to the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission that he had always retained Massachusetts as his primary residence through the years 1999-2002. Somehow Romney concealed the fact that he had obtained a Utah driver's license. It is certainly possible that he kept his Massachusetts driver's license at the same time as the Utah driver's license, which itself is a misdemeanor. (We are unable to find any record for "conversion" of the Utah driver's license coming back in to Massachusetts. So maintaining two licenses is entirely plausible contrary to regulations and law.)

-- The Massachusetts constitution explicitly requires a seven year prior residence in Massachusetts for all valid candidates for governor. Obviously if Romney had filed his Federal tax returns 1998 to 2001 out of Utah, then he did not meet the residency requirement to run for governor in 2002 in Massachusetts.

Let's get clear on this one. "The law does not apply to me" is shear narcissism. The country had enough of that personality disorder with Cheney and Bush.

No wonder we're not seeing Romney's tax returns. His responses at pressers claim that he does not remember the details. Really? He doesn't remember that he had a photo taken at their DMV. He does not remember what happened with his Mass. driver's license.

O.K., fine.

Same time, Romney is going around the country telling a lie that John Kerry didn't release his tax returns in 2004. But in fact Kerry released 20 years of tax returns. When things get tough, Romney lies.

Liar. Crook. Bully-boy. Romney is the worst of all three.

(There's also something to be noted about Romney "saving" the 2002 Winter Olympics. Between giveaways of Federally owned land and Federal grants and large-scale Utah taxpayer contributions, more than $300-million was rolled in from public assets to make that event a success. Corporations put in $200-million for which they got full value. LDS listed 18,000 volunteers as well. Mitt Romney helped organize these giveaways.)