Mr. Romney's Returns Not Claiming All of His Charitable Deductions (10/1/12)

I normally did not stoop to politics (at least overtly) in this blog.  (Outside this blog, I do have opinions and sometimes express them.)  However, where politics intersects the criminal tax law, well, I feel it appropriate to post something on this blog.

The political backdrop is that presidential candidate Mitt Romney apparently did not claim all of his tax deductions for charitable contributions.  For most of us, that would seem odd.  At the most basic level, many taxpayers cannot afford to forego deductions -- they need the tax savings.  But money is one thing Mr. Romney has in abundance, so he does not have the same level of need and, to put it another way, he can easily afford to pay more tax than the law says he owes.  Besides, he had the goal of claiming to the American public that he has paid tax at something like 14% (rather than something less) and thereby can empathize with the taxpaying public.

But that does raise an issue as to how he presents the forebearance on his returns.  By reporting his taxable income and tax liability without claiming the deductions, has Mr. Romney done something immoral or even illegal?

A noted tax commentator, Charles I. Kingson, published a letter to the editor of Tax Notes noting that the Form 1040 Mr. Romney signed contains the standard jurat declaring under penalty of perjury that "to the best of my knowledge it is true, correct, and complete."  See Charles I. Kingson, Did Romney Violate the Jurat?, 137 Tax Notes 107 (Oct. 1, 2012)