Romney hits back at Dems who criticize his tax plan and tax history

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GettyImages

(CBS News) DENVER - Mitt Romney fired back on Thursday against Democrats questioning his tax proposals and tax-paying history, rebuking President Obama over his characterization of Romney's tax plan and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid over his claim that the presumptive GOP nominee has not paid income taxes in 10 years.

Romney was campaigning in Colorado on Thursday touting his own tax plan at the same time that the Obama campaign spent the day highlighting a Tax Policy Center study released this week. The nonpartisan center concluded Romney's plan would result in a net tax increase for lower- and middle-income taxpayers in order to cut taxes for the highest earners.

"He knows that is a completely dishonest characterization of my plan," said Romney, whose campaign has characterized the study as a "joke" because it was co-authored by a former Obama advisor - even though the Tax Policy Center's director, Donald Marron, worked in George W. Bush's White House and the Romney campaign has praised the center's work in the past.

Speaking in an interview on the radio program of conservative Fox News host Sean Hannity, Romney said his plan ensures that the wealthiest Americans continue to pay the same share of taxes, and that the president was merely seeking to distract from his own stewardship of the economy.

"He has a way of putting out a false statement and then attacking it and making it sound like it's mine which of course it's not. He knows better than that. It really is a matter of a president doing almost anything to try and avoid talking about his own record," he said in the interview.

Obama wasn't the only Democrat whom Romney accused of misconstruing the facts. He made a similar claim of Reid, who has told reporters multiple times this week that he has sources -- whom he has declined to name -- saying Romney hasn't paid taxes in 10 years.

(Related: Romney grades Obama on "accountability" report card.)

Romney dismissed it as little more than "baloney."

"It's time for Harry to put up or shut up," Romney said. "Harry's gonna have to describe who he spoke with, because of course that's totally and completely wrong. It's untrue, dishonest and inaccurate. It's wrong. So I'm looking forward to having Harry reveal his sources, and we'll probably find out it's the White House."

Reid has said the burden of proof is on Romney, who has steadfastly refused to release more than two years of his tax returns.

The candidate declined yet another opportunity to make an announcement about his vice presidential pick or thetiming, but praised the "large number of people" from which he's had to pick. He will meet with several of those options - various Republican governors - during an event in Aspen on Thursday evening.

[unclebernies]

That is 37 straight months of job growth for the Obama admin. Bush was losing 700,000 jobs a month. Let's go back to the republicans way of doing things.

[TimeToEvolve]

This is how the right wing knucklehead Robmee thinks. It's all OK because I say so. I will judge. I will be the decider. I will decide how much I should pay. You little people just shut up and stay out of my way.

[infantryman1968]

by RollotheNorman August 3, 2012 2:36 PM EDT

LOL, mostly old stuff that just didn't stick 4 years ago. Think it's gonna stick now cap'n? Obama's record on the economy is much, much better than Dubya's, but then you knew that but lied anyway. Willard's plan is simply a Dubyanomics redo. Wonder how that will work. Got any idea there cap'n?


LOL!


Yea, an unemployment rate higher than 8% for 42 months and a GDP lower than Guatemala.

We're doing real good.

Yes We Can!

[Conservative_Robot]

As I am a Conservative Robot I must inform you the public that in accordance with Mitt Romney lore, he shall make our country better by cutting taxes for the wealthy and increasing taxes for the poor because then the poor will spend the money they don't have on the products the wealthy come up with therefore creating jobs. Only problem is that if the poor don't have money how will they buy our products. Uh oh. Malfunction in progress..... Reboot.... I am conservative robot. I follow order's. Mitt Romney is never wrong. Obama is to blame for Bush running our country into the ground.

[TimeToEvolve]

Robmee is just a 1% moron idiot at a time of the rise of the 99%. He is the second coming of George Bushoccio but maybe even worse. He is a radical extremist that wants a complete makeover of America. It's just that simple.

[ddaryl1]

If he cannot release the tax info then he is hiding something.

Seriously what could possibly be the big deal.. so obviously he is delaying and someone is working on cleaning them up on the sly.

republicans YUK!

[Conservative_Robot]

Who told you???? Mitt said no one would figure out that his tax returns are currently being forged. Must be gay marriages fault.

[Conservative_Robot]

If he doesn't release them then no, the Obama administration can't look at them until he releases them.

[TimeToEvolve]

Nothing will ever be made better until we completely marginalize the Republicons with their same old ridiculous idea of trickle down. Are they more stupid for still repeating this nonsense or are we more stupid for accepting it? I think it is us because they are laughing all the way to the (offshore) banks while we struggle.

[Conservative_Robot]

We like thinking the same way all the time. Things can't change because the way they were 100 years ago is the way it's supposed to be. And these damn liberals are fighting for things like equal rights and stuff. Don't they know white males are the only important thing to this country. Jeez.

[TheStolenGiraffe]

Here's an idea! How about we increase taxes for everyone?!? Why wage class warfare? We all created this mess, we all should do our part to fix it. Raise it 2% for the middle class, 4% for the wealthy, & give tax cuts to those who live below the poverty line.

[Conservative_Robot]

We will never allow that. Wealthy people shouldn't have to pay taxes.

[ddaryl1]

my issue with the tax code is I calim 0 marrie d, my wife works and alos claims 0 married.

WE BOTH HAVE $50 PER CHECK EXTRA TAKEN OUT PER CHECK, and I am lucky if I break even


How can anyoen claim 0 and still owe makes no sense. AND Why in the world do I have ot take out extra money to pay my taxes on top of claiming 0

Yes I have a mortgage and small student loan I can write off, but the tax code is broken.

If yo claim 0 there should be no scenario in which you would owe.

[TimeToEvolve]

Smokey, I'll answer this: Can you tell me how only the Bush policies are to blame for the housing bubble bursting. Because that is what caused the numbers you are referencing.

Bushoccio put the failed scam of Reaganomic on steroids. He placed people as incompetent as him in leadership and oversight positions. He privatized and deregulated government oversight agencies. He did nothing about the warnings from economists about the warning signs that culminated in the housing crash and Bush Recession.

[ddaryl1]

Bush had lots to do with the housing problem

Watch this and pass it around

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNqQx7sjoS8

read this and pass it around. This act went into affect in 2003

http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/affordablehousing/programs/home/addi/index.cfm

and for more info read this article from 2004 The FBI warned of mortgage fraud

http://articles.cnn.com/2004-09-17/justice/mortgage.fraud_1_mortgage-fraud-mortgage-industry-s-l-crisis?_s=PM:LAW

Bush did nothing to stop it

[Conservative_Robot]

That's all Obama's fault obviously. I know this for a FACT because Mitt said so.

[TimeToEvolve]

The idiot GOP already forgot their own disaster from 2000-2008? They want to inflict more pain on America and the world? What is wrong with them?

[Conservative_Robot]

What's wrong with us? What's wrong with you!! Just because the Bush administration was before the Obama administration and all of Bushes policies put us in debt, and lost hundreds of thousands of jobs does not make it our fault. It's Obama's fault for not traveling back in time and beating Bush in the election in 2000. Duh.

[ddaryl1]

Preach on brutha...

republicans are the entire problem, they are a disease