Too Much Online, free news weekly, 25 July, 2012

Hot enough for you? Last month “broke or tied 3,215 high-temperature records across the United States,” one new report has it, and this month already rates as another scorcher. But the real heat these days seems to be on Mitt Romney — for his refusal to release any of the federal tax returns he filed before 2010.

Assorted tax experts and pundits spent last week speculating on why the GOP Presidential hopeful has dug in his heels against disclosure. Did Mitt have a fortune in Swiss bank accounts? Did he take advantage of the amnesty the IRS offered in 2009 to taxpayers who had fraudulently concealed offshore income?

Or did Romney parlay paper losses in his investment portfolio into a zero tax rateon his mega millions? We may never know.

One thing we do know, thanks to a blockbuster report on tax havens released yesterday: The world's ultra rich have far more wealth than we ever imagined. How much more? Think trillions, people. This week's Too Much has the details.