The AP reported:



It’s a potentially important difference because the simple average treats each year equally — whether Romney earned, say, $5 million in that year or $30 million. It is especially important if Romney paid a low tax rate in a year in which he earned a lot but paid a high tax rate in years when he earned less. The weighted average would give a more accurate picture.

Romney spokeswoman Michele Davis, asked if he might later amend the 2011 return to claim the deductions, responded "He will not do that." So that's a promise from Mitt Romney. But since tax returns are confidential documents, we won't know whether he keeps the promise.

Larry Campagna, a litigation partner at Chamberlain Hrdlicka specializing in tax, confirmed to me that Romney would have the option to amend his 2011 returns, and that an amendment would be a private matter. An IRS employee who disclosed the existence of the amended return would be committing a felony. If Romney is President, he will face political pressure to make continued tax disclosures. But if he's a private citizen, he won't have to heed calls for more tax transparency -- he can amend his 2011 taxes and nobody will ever know.

http://www.bloomberg.com/...