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Their agreement came during a mayoral debate on BBC Newsnight on Wednesday, itself something of an American procedure, is likely to increase pressure on members of the Cabinet to do the same. A brief row over how much senior politicians earned and whether they would benefit personally from the cut in the 50p rate of income tax following the Budget shows the appetite for the release of such information at a time of squeezed spending and frozen income levels. The practice of releasing tax returns is common in US elections, and the precedent for a presidential candidate releasing their details was set by Republican George Romney in 1967. During his campaign for the presidency that year, George Romney made the groundbreaking decision to publish 12 years worth of tax returns. "One year could be a fluke," he said. "Perhaps done for show" George was of course, the father of Mitt, the current front runner to take on Barack Obama in this years presidential election. Mitt Romney, the millionaire businessman and former governor of Massachusetts himself ran into trouble after initially resisting demands from rival Republicans to release his tax information. Having relented it was shown that while he earned $21.7m in 2010, he paid a tax rate of just 13.9 percent, a lower rate than that of a person earning $50,000, due to the way he organised his bank accounts. In an interesting parallel with the London mayoral candidates' agreement to publish their tax details during a debate, it was a botched answer during a televised debate that heaped pressure on Romney in January. Asked whether he would release information about his tax payments, Romney merely responded "maybe". A response that drew boos from the Republican crowd. He released one year's worth of information four days later. * Contribute to this Story: * Send us a tip * Send us a photo or video * Suggest a correction FOLLOW UK POLITICS Like [DEL: :DEL] 8k ____________________ Get Alerts * Mitt Romney * London Mayoral Election * Video * London The snap agreement by the four leading candidates to be London mayor to publish how much they pay in tax points to the increasing Americanisation of British politics. Their agreement came during a ... The snap agreement by the four leading candidates to be London mayor to publish how much they pay in tax points to the increasing Americanisation of British politics. Their agreement came during a ... Related News On Huffington Post: More Than 100 Million Unnecessary Tax Returns Filed Each Year Boris Johnson Publishes Tax Records, Putting Further Pressure On Ken Livingstone Unnecessary Tax Returns More Than 100 Million Unnecessary Tax Returns Filed Each Year By David Cay Johnston April 6 (Reuters) - On March 28, the U.S. Justice Department sought to close a nationwide chain of income tax... Boris Publishes His Tax Boris Johnson Publishes Tax Records, Putting Further Pressure On Ken Livingstone London Mayor Boris Johnson has published his tax liabilities, having promised to reveal whether or not he was paid by a company called Finland Station.... ____________________ search Loading... TOP LINKS ON THIS TOPIC 1 of 5 Can Ken Livingstone make his tax affairs even worse? Yes he can | Mark Pack _________________________________________________________________ Tax is a distraction in the London mayoral race _________________________________________________________________ Neutral Audience Savages Ken on Tax - Guy Fawkes' blog Tax Rows Between Boris And Ken Leave Londoners Cold And Annoyed via < my first panel slot! _________________________________________________________________ Ken Livingstone accused of using company to avoid paying tax - Telegraph _________________________________________________________________ Team Ken Send Out Tax Lines to Tweet Script - Guy Fawkes' blog How much tax do Ken and Boris pay? _________________________________________________________________ Ken Livingstone blasted by Boris Johnson for tax lie | The Sun |News|Politics _________________________________________________________________ Ken Livingstone's Tax Dodging Ways - Forbes BLOG: Can anyone help: What is the reality of Ken Livingstone's tax affairs? _________________________________________________________________ Watch this space for publication of tax material soon. Statement on Ken's proposal for full disclosure here _________________________________________________________________ MG Compare and Contrast: Candidates Effective Tax Rates Ken Finally Releases His Figures - Guy Fawkes' blog _________________________________________________________________ Ken Livingstone accused of using company to avoid paying tax: Ken Livingstone is facing fresh allegations that h... _________________________________________________________________ London Spin: Wealthy Red Ken Refuses to Reveal Tax Details to Londoners Around the Web: [favicon.ico] Boris Johnson, Brian Paddick and Jenny Jones release their income and tax paid ... More in UK Politics... [trans.gif] Cameron Europe Speech 'This Week': Hague Insists... [trans.gif] Police Reforms Could See Foreign Chiefs Heading... [trans.gif] Ukip's Nigel Farage Insists Tory Alliance 'Impossible' [trans.gif] Sir Jeremy Heywood Slammed By MPs Over... 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