Romeny Releases Tax Returns

Mitt Romney has finally released his tax returns for 2010 and 2011, showing an income of over $42.5 million the past two years. It is also estimated that Romney will pay about $6 – $7 million in taxes, about 15%. Mitt Romney’s complete tax information can be found on his website.

The Average American pays a tax rate of about %11 according to the non-partisan Tax-Foundation. Millionaires, such as Mitt Romney, on average pay a 25% effective tax rate. In comparison, President Obama and the First Lady, Michelle Obama earned about $1.75 million in income over 2010. They paid $454,000 in taxes, an effective tax rate of about 26%.

So what does Mitt Romney have to say about paying 10% less taxes than most millionaires?

“I pay all the taxes that are legally required, not a dollar more,” Romney said at a debate. “I’m proud of the fact that I pay a lot of taxes.”

Mitt Romney is worth an estimated $190 – $250 million, with most of his money coming from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate than earned income.

Fred Goldberg a former IRS commissioner stated that, “There is no indication or suggestion of any tax-motivated or aggressive tax planning activities. In my judgment, they have fully satisfied their responsibilities as taxpayers,” continuing on to say “These returns reflect the complexity of our tax laws and the types of investment activity that I would anticipate for persons in their circumstances,”

In addition, Mitt Romney holds accounts in the Cayman Islands a known tax haven.

Well Mitt, you may be following the law but you are still a scoundrel. For weeks candidates have been hounding Mitt Romney to release his tax records, and he has finally done it, proving that he is one of those money grubbing evil S.O.B.s that will do anything to hold on to more of their money.

Fred Goldberg is very right, this situation does show the complexity of our tax laws. It says in our country that if you have an income over a certain amount you pay a 25% tax rate. When did it become ok to work the system, and cheat the American public out of money? Romney obviously has a serious advantage here. First of all he spent his life in business, dealing with financial transactions and large sums of money, he is pre-disposed to know how to work the system. Secondly, due to his vast amount of resources he can hire anyone he wants to protect his money, and make sure he can keep as much of it as he wants.

It is also important to point out that other millionaires of note, (the Obamas) manage to pay the correct tax rate, even though they probably have any resource at their disposal. It’s about putting your fair share back in Mitt. Romney has spent his life being a vulture capitalist (and yes I know it is venture), taking advantage of a system, and tearing companies apart. He has no connection to the people he wants to govern, beyond the fact that he pays the same tax rate as them.

This all comes amidst Romney taking a huge dive in the polls. Just a few weeks ago people thought it was over and Romney had the nomination. Now the tables are turning, especially with the tax return debacle.

Beyond the scope of the campaign and Mitt Romney, this just goes to show how convoluted our tax system is. Romney campaigns on the talking point that he wants to lower taxes for millionaires, but he isn’t even paying the tax rate he is complaining about. Mitt Romney is a phony, and an evil money grubbing troll.

I don’t think it would surprise anyone if one day he peeled back his skin, and revealed a horrible yet mystifying Dragon. (Mystical creatures known to hoard and steal treasure.)