Republican leaders accused Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of lying when he claimed the GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney hasn’t paid taxes for the past ten years. Republican Party chair Reince Priebus said that Reid is a dirty liar. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican from South Carolina, said that Reid’s lying about the statement that he knows something about Romney. The senator added that Reid made things up to avert the focus of the campaign away from the real issues. Republicans

Reid’s spokesman, Adam Jentieson, claimed that the Republicans were covering up for Romney and he maintained that Reid’s source is credible. Other Democrats said that Romney can clear up the confusion regarding his taxes by releasing his tax returns to the public. The issue has become been the topic of various Sunday news shows.

Reid said that his source is an investor in Romney’s former company, Bain Capital. He hasn’t disclosed any evidence to back up the claim and he even said that he’s not sure whether the statement is true. Romney recently disclosed that he’s worth as much as $250 million. He denied the allegations made by Reid and said that he has paid a lot of taxes.

Romney’s federal tax return report for 2010 shows he paid 13.9 percent on income of $21.6 million. Most of his income came from investment gains that are taxed at a lower rate than earned income. The Republican candidate refused to release more than one year of personal tax returns. He said that his critics would distort the information and use it against him. Democrats and some Republicans want him to release more tax returns.

Democrats want to make Romney’s personal wealth an issue in this year’s presidential election. The former Massachusetts governor has been trying to get the middle-class voters’ support. If he successfully win the election, he would be among the richest presidents of the nation.