Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
Mitt Romney released his tax records this morning and they reveal that he pays an obscene amount of taxes and at a rate higher than 60% of Americans. He uses H&R Block to calculate his tax burden, which comes in at an effective rate of 13.9% of his income. Here's how Reuters reports:
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released tax records on Tuesday indicating he will pay $6.2 million in taxes on a total of $42.5 million in income over the years 2010 and 2011.
Bowing to increasing political pressure to provide more detail about his vast wealth, the former private equity executive released tax returns indicating he and his wife, Ann, paid an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent in 2010. They expect to pay a 15.4 percent rate when they file their returns for 2011.
Romney's tax rate is below that of most wage-earning Americans because most of his income, as outlined in more than 500 pages of tax documents, flows from capital gains on investments.
Actually, that's not quite accurate, is it? As John Hood writes at National Review:
A competent campaign, and candidate, would explain that Romney’s real federal tax rate on his investment income was more than 40 percent (being conservative, after deductions and such), since the revenue stream was subject to both a personal tax rate and the corporate tax rate. A competent campaign would then point out that state taxes would bring the effective income tax rate on Romney’s investment income to 50 percent or higher. Every time a reporter or opposing candidate tried to say Romney’s tax rate was 15 percent, a competent campaign would call them out for misleading the American people.
A competent campaign would then point out that this effective income tax rate of 50 percent is much, much higher than what the average worker pays in federal and state taxes on wage income. Such a campaign would then say that by taxing investment so punitively and then redistributing the revenue to failed giveway programs and government boondoggles, America is eating its seed corn and deterring investors from creating new jobs.
I am clearly a radical right-winger because I'm offended -- not proud -- that Mitt Romney has to pay more money to the federal government than to his Mormon church. That's unconscionable to me.
Also, I'm clearly a radical right-winger because I don't view contributions to one's religious group as nefarious, unlike so many in the media.
Do voters typically get upset at candidates for paying the taxes they owe and being ridiculously generous?
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Mar '11
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
More to the point, a competent campaign - Mr Obama's - will demagogue this, paint Mr Romney as one of the 1%, and push a "fair" corporate tax rate that is the same as "earned" income.
This is why Mr Obama is hoping Mr Romney gets the nomination - it plays right into his hand.
Aug '11
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
Mollie, did you find anything unexpected or questionable? I ask this because of all the Ricocheteers, you have been repeatedly wondering aloud why Romney might be delaying his release.
And I have to agree with John Hood: a competent campaign would turn this to the candidate's advantage. Why is the Romney campaign so . . . "undisciplined" and "erratic"?
Edited on Jan 24 at 9:28amOct '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
What's Romney's real tax burden, taking state and federal taxes into account? That might help clear up the issue. I know you said it was 50%, but that sounded like an estimate.
Aug '11
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
David Williamson: More to the point, a competent campaign - Mr Obama's - will demagogue this, paint Mr Romney as one of the 1%, and push a "fair" corporate tax rate that is the same as "earned" income.
This is why Mr Obama is hoping Mr Romney gets the nomination - it plays right into his hand. · 1 minute ago
Oh yes. This is one of the main reasons a Romney nomination worries me. Romney is so easily made the Emanuel Goldstein to those who call themselves the 99%.
Also, when conservatives argue that the top 10 percent shoulder nearly 70% of the tax burden, the left doesn't see that as wrong. They think it should be closer to 100%. So these arguments, even if Mitt Romney could make them, will not fall on receptive ears.
Edited on Jan 24 at 9:26amRe: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
Can we all agree that the biggest revelation here is that Romney uses H&R Block? Looks like those middle class bona fides are on the mend.
Nov '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
Do voters typically get upset at candidates for paying the taxes they owe and being ridiculously generous?
Let's hope not.
My gut reaction to this news was "6.2 million dollars? Man, that's a lot of cheese!"
Yeah, he earned $42.5m over the same two years, but to have to write $6.2m in checks to the feds just takes my breath away. Some "fair share".
The points made by John Hood's article at NR cannot be reiterated often enough. Let's hope that his campaign takes your advice.
Oct '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
DrewInWisconsin: Mollie, did you find anything unexpected or questionable? I ask this because of all the Ricocheteers, you have been repeatedly wondering aloud why Romney might be delaying his release.
And I have to agree with John Hood: a competent campaign would turn this to the canddiate's advantage. Why is the Romney campaign so . . . "undisciplined" and "erratic"? · 0 minutes ago
Here's a theory: Romney planned to respond to attacks on his wealth by Obama in the general election by advocating either higher taxes or, more likely, cuts in the mortgage interest rate and charitable givings deductions (which would raise the top effective tax brackets closer to their marginal rates).
That might be paranoid though. He must've thought about how to respond to Obama's inevitable attacks on this issue. Perhaps he's dug up a juicy Obama scandal he'll use to distract the media from the issue? That also wouldn't work against Republicans, obviously.
Aug '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
DrewInWisconsin: Mollie, did you find anything unexpected or questionable? I ask this because of all the Ricocheteers, you have been repeatedly wondering aloud why Romney might be delaying his release.
And I have to agree with John Hood: a competent campaign would turn this to the canddiate's advantage. Why is the Romney campaign so . . . "undisciplined" and "erratic"? · 2 minutes ago
The competency of a campaign staff that missed such a "golden"opportunity is suspect.
The H&R Block thing is absolutely unbelievable, unless they have a "Private Client" branch somewhere in SLC or perhaps Monte Carlo. I can only imagine my CPA salivating over a return like that.
Sep '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
Drew and Mollie. Someone's found the answer. Mitt Romney and Chris Christie share a Charlie Crist problem:
Photo credit: Newsmax
Aug '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
You got it ?
Good.
Sep '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
Not while Charlie Crist's napkin folders are in the picture.
Sep '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
flownover
You got it ?
Good. · 0 minutes ago
Well played, sir.
Aug '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
I heard on Laura Ingraham's show this morning that Romney pays a higher effective rate than 96% of returns filed in 2009. Sounds about right to me because the standard deductions shelter a huge chunk of the first $30k or so of your income.
Can anyone verify this?
Edited on Jan 24 at 9:33amDec '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
Where can I find someone doing actual number crunching to show how the ended up with the 50% rate?
Sep '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
Frozen Chosen: I heard on Laura Ingraham's show this morning that Romney pays a higher effectiverate than 96% of returns filed in 2009. Sounds about right to me because the standard deductions shelter a huge chunk of the first $30k or so of your income.
Can anyone verify this? · 1 minute ago
Edited 0 minutes ago
Frozen, regardless of the actual number, I think we all agree Mitt pays a huge chunk of tax. What we're aghast at is how he and his campaign team are unable to counterattack effectively. Heck, the Ricochet contributors and comment threads are defending Romney right now better than his own campaign staff do.
Brutal.
Sep '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
H&R Blockade is the new Naval Division they've launched.
Sep '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
Hmmm, Romney's 15% of income given to charity versus the Biden's .2% charitable giving and the Obama's 5%. And Republicans are the greedy one's? A competent campaign... or forget it.
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
And 500 pages of tax documents?! H&R Block charges by the form. Filing his taxes must've been mighty expensive.
Jun '11
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
Its HQ is in Key West... easier to cover the Gulf of Mexico from there.
Sep '10
Re: Romney, Taxpayer And Tither
Fricosis Guy: Its HQ is in Key West... easier to cover the Gulf of Mexico from there. · 2 minutes ago
Good grief, and here I passed on doing a Grand Cayman Island joke. Bada bing.