good evening. i m erin burnett, and outfront tonight, a burning question for mitt romney. today, he got an endorsement from donald trump, and he was all smiles, but another day has gone by without an answer to a crucial question. does he think he should pay more taxes. here are his returns from 2009 and estimated for 2009 and estimated for 2010 and 11. it turns out that 30% of mitt romney s income, $12.9 million, comes from one very specific thing, in these tax years, 2010 and 2011. it s called the carry. and here is how it works. partners in private equity and hedge funds invest money for their clients, and they get a significant cut of the profits they make. that cut, the carry, is taxed at 15%, not 35%, like regular income. now, many people think that it is right to reward people for investing money, for taking risks, with a lower tax rate. they argue this encouraged people to start businesses and create jobs. but almost no one says it s right to reward the guy who invests