Romney: I've been audited in the past (Updated)

With a hat-tip to First Read, Mitt Romney told ABC News's David Muir in an interview from Israel that he has been audited more than once, as he was asked whether there was ever a year where he paid less than the 13.9 percent effective tax rate one of his returns showed. From the transcript on the ABC News site:

Muir: You are here on what some have termed your world audition and Democrats, not surprisingly, continue to hammer you back home on taxes, you remain firm two years and two years only. So from what you have released and from what we have seen we know that there was one year when you paid about 13.9% tax rate. Can we clear this up by asking a simple yes or no question? Was there ever any year when you paid lower than 13.9%? Romney: I haven't calculated that. I'm happy to go back and look but my view is I've paid all the taxes required by law. From time to time I've been audited as happens I think to other citizens as well and the accounting firm which prepares[my] taxes has done a very thorough and complete job pay taxes as legally due. I don't pay more than are legally due and frankly if I had paid more than are legally due I don't think I'd be qualified to become president. I'd think people would want me to follow the law and pay only what the Tax Code requires. Muir: You said you would go back and look, would you look for us? Romney: I haven't looked at the tax rate paid year by year. I know that I pay a very substantial amount of taxes and every year since the beginning of my career so far as I can recall.

Romney's camp told Alex a few weeks ago, definitively, that it was not true that there was ever a year where he paid zero taxes. But he did not elaborate on what the audits, which can be routine for people with large amounts of wealth, found. I've emailed the campaign and will update if I hear back.

But Romney putting that out there is not going to do much to quell questions about more disclosure.

UPDATE: Romney spokesman Ryan Williams emails, “Mitt Romney has been scrupulous about observing the requirements of the tax code. Mitt Romney is in full compliance with U.S. law and he has paid 100 percent of what he has owed.”

UPDATE II: Williams added this quote: "The audit did not result in a fine or penalty. Mitt Romney has fully complied with U.S. law and he has paid 100 percent of what he has owed." And Romney's money manager, Brad Malt, was quoted in January, after the release of Romney's 2011 tax forms, saying he has not been audited by the IRS in the past 10 years.

Maggie Haberman is senior political reporter for Politico.