Tax Returns

Though Mitt Romney made his reputation as a private equity investor, his tax returns show the presidential candidate has a large portion of his wealth in an even more aggressive corner of the investment world: hedge funds. A Globe examination of Romney's taxes and a prior financial disclosure shows that about one-third of the assets in his Individual Retirement Account are in hedge funds, predominantly those run by his former firm, Bain Capital in Boston. Romney's IRA could be as large as $101 million, according to his financial disclosure form, although he is not required to provide the exact...

Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say a former NFL player admitted that he intentionally failed to file federal income tax returns for several years. William James of Woodland Park faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine after pleading guilty Wednesday to a complaint charging him with willful failure to file tax returns from 2005-09. He's due to be sentenced Sept. 21. The 32-year—old James played for several teams during his 10-year NFL career, including the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.

US Senator Scott Brown has turned questions over Democrat Elizabeth Warren's claims of Native American ancestry into a key strategy in his bid to retain his Senate seat. Almost every day for more than two weeks, the Brown campaign or a Republican surrogate has highlighted the latest bit of news to emerge on the subject, often citing articles on conservative websites in a bid to coax more coverage from the mainstream news media. Warren's failure to offer a full and concise answer on what role her ancestry has played in her professional career has left an opening that has allowed the questions to linger.

Spain's National Court said Tuesday it had dropped its investigation into the country's top banker — Banco Santander chairman Emilio Botin — and 11 of his relatives over possible income and wealth tax evasion. The case focused on tax returns filed between 2005 and 2009 on accounts the family held in Switzerland's HSBC Private Bank (Suisse). The court said the probe showed the Botin family had normalized its tax situation before the investigation was opened last year.

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich owed $613,517 in federal taxes in 2010 on more $3.1 million in income. Tax returns released Thursday evening show the former House speaker owed roughly 31.6 percent of his adjusted income in taxes, giving about 2 percent to charity. Gingrich took aim at rival and multimillionaire Mitt Romney this week for paying only 15 percent. Personal financial disclosure forms filed last summer show Gingrich is worth more than $6.5 million.

Time's up! Federal and state taxes are due at midnight. They can be filed electronically at irs.gov/efile for federal taxes and mass.gov/dor for state taxes. Or they can be sent by mail, as long as they are postmarked by midnight. You can also ask for an extension through the websites or by mail, but if you owe taxes you still must pay them by Tuesday midnight. No Massachusetts post offices are planning extended hours. If you are using the mail, you will need to trek to the Fort Point post office in Boston, which is regularly open until midnight.

US Senator Scott Brown inched closer to releasing his tax returns Friday, telling radio host Jim Braude, "Yeah, actually, we're taking that under consideration" Brown did not fully commit to releasing six years of returns, as the Globe requested Tuesday, but sounded as if he would. "I'm happy to," he said in response to a question from Braude on 96.9 FM. "You know, I got nothing to hide. It is what it is. Gail and I would certainly love to be transparent. I think, in this position, you need to be. If there are any questions, great.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Under pressure from rivals and a few allies alike, Mitt Romney said today that he will release his tax returns on Tuesday and not wait until April, as he seeks to bury swirling questions about his finances that have shadowed his campaign for the last week. Appearing on Fox News a day after his loss to Newt Gingrich in the South Carolina Republican primary, Romney said he would release his 2010 returns and an estimate of his 2011 returns. "We made a mistake holding off as long as we did," Romney said.

The Massachusetts US Senate race, already framed in terms of electing the best guardian for the middle class, will be fought by two candidates in the nation's top income group. Tax returns released today show that Republican Scott Brown's family income more than doubled to nearly $840,000 after he was elected in 2010, while his likely Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Warren, has had nearly $1 million in joint earnings two of the past four years. During the most recent filing year, she was in the top 1 percent of earners while he was in the top 2 percent.

LANCASTER, N.H. – Mitt Romney said he has no current plans to release his tax returns, but added that he would consider releasing them if he becomes the Republican nominee. "We don't have any current plans to release tax returns, but never say never," he said today after greeting voters at an Agway farm and hardware store here. "We'll see what the future holds. We've released of course all of the information required by law, which is a pretty extensive release. But down the road we'll see what happens if I'm the nominee.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and U.S. Sen. Scott Brown publicly support each other and even share key advisers. But on many topics, from foreign policy to social issues, the Massachusetts Republicans take very different positions. ABORTION: Romney opposes abortion rights and says the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion should be reversed so states can be free to craft their own abortion laws. Brown opposes federal funding for abortions, but thinks women should have the right to choose to have the procedure.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hold assets worth between nearly $2.6 million and nearly $8.3 million, according to financial disclosure reports released Tuesday by the White House. The documents show the couple's assets for last year. The first family's assets were valued between $1.8 million and nearly $12 million in 2010. Obama released the annual report in the middle of a presidential campaign that has brought attention to the wealth of his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney.

I read the article "From humble roots to top of income ladder: Warren, Brown release tax returns" (Page A1, April 28) with great interest. As a former engineer and current high school math teacher, I often use various data to augment my opinions on political issues. You write that Elizabeth Warren and her husband's joint income averaged about $850,000 over four years, and Scott Brown and his wife's income averaged about $428,000 over the same period. I determined the percentages of their income that went to charitable contributions during the four years:...

A 92-year-old woman who sold $40 kits for people to kill themselves faces sentencing in San Diego for failing to file federal tax returns. Sharlotte Hydorn faces a maximum term of one year in prison when she is sentenced Monday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernard Skomal. Both the prosecution and defense agree she should be spared prison and sentenced to five years' probation. But prosecutors recommend that Hydorn be ordered to pay more than $25,000 in restitution to the IRS, a charge that the defense is asking she also be spared.

The leading candidates in the US Senate race have faced a variety of situations in recent days that offered atypical testimony to their forthrightness. Two weeks ago, it was how they handled releasing their income tax returns. Last week, it was how Democrat Elizabeth Warren dealt with questions about how she characterized her ethnic heritage while climbing the academic ladder. At the same time, the incumbent, Scott Brown, was confronted with questions about how he handled his family's health insurance after his repeated calls to repeal the Obama administration's...

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has signed legislation designed to make it easier for businesses to handle tax filings. Bentley said Thursday that the law will eliminate the need for any business with multiple locations to file tax returns in multiple cities and counties. Instead, they can use a single filing system to handle all sales, use and rental tax returns and make their payments. The state Department of Revenue will administer the system and distribute the filings and payments to the appropriate cities and counties.

There is a passage in "Master and Commander," the first of Patrick O'Brian's acclaimed series of historical sea novels, in which Stephen Maturin casually refers to the wealth of James Dillon, one of his shipmates. "Surely to God you would never call me rich?" Dillon asks with some asperity. Maturin: "I have ridden over your land. " Dillon: "It's three-quarters of it mountain, and one-quarter bog; and even if they were to pay their rent for the rest it would only be a few hundred a year — barely a thousand.

Tax collections in Kansas in April are down slightly from what state officials were anticipating, but officials say the numbers remain strong compared to a year ago. The Department of Revenue says Monday that collections were off $1.4 million in April. The agency said taxpayers had two more days than last year to file their tax returns and that the department was still processing filings. Individual income tax collections were off $1.5 million from estimates. Kansas collected $723.1 million compared to the $724.5 million that was anticipated.