Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is citing his LDS Church tithing being private as one of the reasons he refuses to make his income tax returns public.
In comments made to Parade Magazine, Romney said it is uncomfortable to release his financial information because his tithing is meant to be between him, God and his church.
From the one return he released, the former Massachusetts Governor gave 10 percent to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, totaling more than $4 million and an additional $4 million from his charitable foundation.
But is Romney's desire to keep his tithing donations confidential a compelling argument to keep tax returns private? The answer to that seems to depend on where one stands geographically and politically.
At Temple Square, most of those asked by FOX 13 gave Romney the benefit of the doubt.
"I don't think it's necessary for him to release his tax returns and of course tithing is a personal relationship between you and God and that's your business and God's business," said Mike Moss.
Editors in Parade say most of their readers were more concerned whether Romney can relate to people who were struggling to make ends meet. Romney talked about the LDS Church in that regard, saying that his work in the church gave him the perspective by helping people through such problems.
