To the Editor:

"Should millionaires get additional tax breaks if Romney is elected president?"  That was one of the topics of conversation last week at  a bipartisan, seniors discussion group at a community center in Atlanta where I spend a lot of time with my daughter who has lost her husband.
As the debate went on, someone brought up the question of why Romney has not released his tax returns.  Speculation went around the room, and THEN  a participant in the room divulged that his wife works for a very large firm that handles the account of an extremely wealthy man, equal to Romney, and this man also has investments  and money offshore and in foreign countries.  This wealthy man has made it very clear to the company that handles his taxes that he  always  intends to pay  ALL  TAXES  DUE on all investments, including foreign, because he can afford to pay them and because he wants to be fair to the United States.
Guess where the  conversation went from there?  It was more of Romney releasing tax returns and if he had paid the same taxes on foreign investments he would be proud to show it.
Then someone brought up that Romney gave so much to charity, but  someone else said that the news had reported that Romney's charity of choice was the Mormon church.
The main question was never settled, but most of the people in the discussion group  admitted that they  would not  be eligible for the additional tax breaks.
 
Barry Lurey
Madison
Via e-mail

Printed in the August 30, 2012 edition