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In addition, Latter-day Saints are expected to donate to a variety of church charities, including a low-interest education loan fund, a publishing fund for the Book of Mormon, and the church's international disaster relief and aid fund -- the denomination's equivalent to the Red Cross -- which responds to tragedies such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The giving process is private, making the details of Romney's charitable donations that much more noteworthy. No collection plates are passed during worship services. No financial records are used. Mormons are expected to give according to their conscience. Once a year, local LDS bishops hold tithing settlement meetings with families to ask if they've paid their full 10 percent. The church, based in Salt Lake City, releases no specifics of what it collects in tithes annually, although the amount by some estimates is several billion dollars. On his tax returns, Romney reported that he gave the church $1.53 million in 2010 on income of $21.7 million, and in 2011 estimates he'll donate $2.6 million to the church, on expected income of $21 million. The 2010 amount is less than 10 percent, while the 2011 figure is higher than the expected tithe. A campaign official said the governor bases his tithes on estimated income, since he donates to the church at the end of the calendar year before his taxes are finalized. He plans to pay above the 10 percent in 2011, to make up for the underestimate the year before, the campaign official said. For many Mormons, the percentage of tithing varies from year to year. "In one given calendar year, I might actually `pre-pay' some tithing and then the next year, I'll kind of work that into my calculation," said Paul Edwards, editor of the Deseret News, which is owned by the LDS church. "I think that most Latter-day Saints can recognize it looks like he's giving roughly a 10th, whether it's one calendar year or over an extended period of time." In an interview on "Fox News Sunday," one day after his loss in South Carolina, Romney said he'd be surprised "if people want to discriminate against someone based upon their commitment to tithe." "The Bible speaks about providing tithes and offerings. I made a commitment to my church a long, long time ago that I would give 10 percent of my income to the church. And I followed through on that commitment," Romney said. "And, hopefully, as people look at various individuals running for president, they'd be pleased with someone who made a promise to God and kept that promise."
[Associated
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