Romney reveals his tax rate is close to 15%

[cybrsage]

Very true, they could have sacrified for him. Unfortunately, there is not enough info to go on. However, we know Obama did not live a life of being poor, which many people like to pretend he did.

I wonder, why are Hawaii schools so bad? There is a lot of money via tourism in Hawaii, they can certainly pay for good schools.

 

[Jhhnn]

Private schools often offer scholarships for excellent students in the form of reduced tuition. Family friends sent their son to Denver academy, and the only way they could afford it was on the basis of scholarships which cut the bill in half or better.

Obviously, Romney didn't need any scholarships.

Righties often ignore some of the basic aspects of extremely high incomes, among them the marginal utility of money & a reduced propensity to consume as a % of income. At some level or another, it's not about money per se, or about lifestyle, but rather about power, the power to run other people's lives.

 

[woolfe9999]

No, it's not a good point.

I saw Lawrence O'Donnell on his show last night claiming that Romney's accountants were going to rework his tax return to show a higher tax rate etc. Where the h3ll do these people get this stuff? (short answer is that they're making up complete crap for political purposes)

This is silly. Tax CPA's have a term for tax planning after the year has ended - it's called fraud.

And given that Romney is an investor, he has little-to-no (probably 'no') ability to tax plan anyway. As some of you who have brokerage accounts or schedule k-1's know you receive a form after the close of year telling you the amounts of income and where to put them on your tax return. There is no flexibility, no choice. The IRS receives a copy of your form and they will run (a computer program for matching) your tax return against this info to make sure it was done properly.

Also, IIRC, Romney has had his assets in a blind trust for years. He has no knowledge or say, therefore no ability to plan or manipulate.

Romney's been running for office since about 1994 in one capacity or another. He's been running for President since '06 or '07, to think he's suddenly going to now start manipulating this one tax return makes no sense anyway.

So, I really wouldn't worry about some 'phonied up' tax return because it's really not possible.

And unless he's in some mostly 'vanilla type' stuff I'd be surprised if he can have his tax return ready by April. Partnerships and S corps usually don't get their tax accounting done until March or April (sometimes they extend until the Fall) making it difficult, if not impossible, for the individuals involved to have returns done by April.

Fern

Great, then let him release the last 10 years of returns. There's nothing to hide then. I think Obama should have to do so as well.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Great, then let him release the last 10 years of returns. There's nothing to hide then. I think Obama should have to do so as well.

Obama has. As far back as 2000.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I don't understand why the other Republican candidates are getting so excited over this. Are these self-proclaimed anti-socialists trying to imply that the rich should pay more in taxes and that they support higher taxes on the rich?

 

[Jhhnn]

I don't understand why the other Republican candidates are getting so excited over this. Are these self-proclaimed anti-socialists trying to imply that the rich should pay more in taxes and that they support higher taxes on the rich?

It's just a convenient attack vector for them. If any of 'em win the nomination, they'll be hammering home the Job Creator trickledown myth as usual.

I mean, who the Hell do you think is paying for their campaigns, anyway?

 

[UberNeuman]

Let's go to the Island... Let's go the Island.. Let's go the Island - to hide what we can hide...

Romney's Bane is Bain...

 

[Phokus]

And?

Who gives a shit how much Romney pays?

Oh ya, the "progressives" who envy his wealth.

If Romney pays closer to 15% that means I pay more than he does (and i don't make nearly the amount of money he does), you stupid asshole. I care very much and so should every other American.

 

[HomerJS]

No, it's not a good point.

I saw Lawrence O'Donnell on his show last night claiming that Romney's accountants were going to rework his tax return to show a higher tax rate etc. Where the h3ll do these people get this stuff? (short answer is that they're making up complete crap for political purposes)

This is silly. Tax CPA's have a term for tax planning after the year has ended - it's called fraud.

And given that Romney is an investor, he has little-to-no (probably 'no') ability to tax plan anyway. As some of you who have brokerage accounts or schedule k-1's know you receive a form after the close of year telling you the amounts of income and where to put them on your tax return. There is no flexibility, no choice. The IRS receives a copy of your form and they will run (a computer program for matching) your tax return against this info to make sure it was done properly.

Also, IIRC, Romney has had his assets in a blind trust for years. He has no knowledge or say, therefore no ability to plan or manipulate.

Romney's been running for office since about 1994 in one capacity or another. He's been running for President since '06 or '07, to think he's suddenly going to now start manipulating this one tax return makes no sense anyway.

So, I really wouldn't worry about some 'phonied up' tax return because it's really not possible.

And unless he's in some mostly 'vanilla type' stuff I'd be surprised if he can have his tax return ready by April. Partnerships and S corps usually don't get their tax accounting done until March or April (sometimes they extend until the Fall) making it difficult, if not impossible, for the individuals involved to have returns done by April.

Fern

Since Romney only wants to release his 2011 tax reurns and they aren't completed yet we do know they will be sanitized.

When Obama was running he released 6 years worth.

Romney's father released 12 years worth when he ran. Why isn't this good enough for the son?

 

[nageov3t]

Since Romney only wants to release his 2011 tax reurns and they aren't completed yet we do know they will be sanitized.

When Obama was running he released 6 years worth.

Romney's father released 12 years worth when he ran. Why isn't this good enough for the son?

what are you expecting to be sanitized?

all of his investments have been in a blind trust since he ran for Governor of Massachusetts.

 

[HomerJS]

Willard update...

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/romney-parks-millions-offshore-tax-haven/story?id=15378566

tax experts tell ABC News there are other reasons Romney may not want the public viewing his returns. As one of the wealthiest candidates to run for president in recent times, Romney has used a variety of techniques to help minimize the taxes on his estimated $250 million fortune. In addition to paying the lower tax rate on his investment income, Romney has as much as $8 million invested in at least 12 funds listed on a Cayman Islands registry. Another investment, which Romney reports as being worth between $5 million and $25 million, shows up on securities records as having been domiciled in the Caymans.

Official documents reviewed by ABC News show that Bain Capital, the private equity partnership Romney once ran, has set up some 138 secretive offshore funds in the Caymans.

 

[RabidMongoose]

Yes, you are correct about this. The Obama's combines (him and his wife) income in 2005 was $1.7 million (Snopes rounds it down when they should have rounded it up). He made most of it from his book, and used it to pay off his student loans.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/money.asp

That is actually a bad financial decision. The interest rate on student loans is super super low...it would be a better choice to invest the money and remain slowly paying off the very low interest rate loan. But to each their own, many people simply want the debt gone.

I'm not really sure about that, I believe that recently the student loan interest rates have raised well above the previous 'super super low' rates, enough where paying it all off was probably OK.

 

[RabidMongoose]

If Obama had to release his long form birth certificate, then I think that it's only fair if Romney releases his entire tax history. Maybe he's been cheating on his taxes the entire time!

 

[HomerJS]

what are you expecting to be sanitized?

all of his investments have been in a blind trust since he ran for Governor of Massachusetts.

All kinds of changes can be made to make his 2011 look more politically favorable.

If he goes back 6-12 years like his father we can see the returns as they would look without political considerations.

 

[UberNeuman]

John Kerry will be the next buzz word....

\get ready for it....

 

[cybrsage]

I'm not really sure about that, I believe that recently the student loan interest rates have raised well above the previous 'super super low' rates, enough where paying it all off was probably OK.

They could have recently changed, but Obama's loans are from a long time ago.

 

[cybrsage]

If Obama had to release his long form birth certificate, then I think that it's only fair if Romney releases his entire tax history. Maybe he's been cheating on his taxes the entire time!

Yeah, because taxes and birth certificates are the same thing.

 

[RabidMongoose]

They could have recently changed, but Obama's loans are from a long time ago.

Even if they were from a long time ago, I wonder if they had a variable interest rate. I'm not sure what educational loans were like back then or if he consolidated at a fixed interest rate.

 

[cybrsage]

If Romney pays closer to 15% that means I pay more than he does (and i don't make nearly the amount of money he does), you stupid asshole. I care very much and so should every other American.

Post your rate in the effictive federal income tax rate thread.

 

[RabidMongoose]

Yeah, because taxes and birth certificates are the same thing.

I wonder if Romney has actually never paid taxes in his life. He should release his entire tax history to prove that he's not a tax evader.

What is he hiding?

 

[cybrsage]

Even if they were from a long time ago, I wonder if they had a variable interest rate. I'm not sure what educational loans were like back then or if he consolidated at a fixed interest rate.

I never had student loans, but a friend of mine was a professional student for a long time and he says his loans (all $180,000 of it) are very low interest loans. He says it feels like an albatross around his neck, but that he cannot justify paying them off early due to the low rates. Others I have talked to say the same.

All I have to go by. Of course, he may have grabbed higher interest loans, who knows. But given the time when he got them (same as my friend), they are most likely very low interest loans.

 

[cybrsage]

I wonder if Romney has actually never paid taxes in his life. He should release his entire tax history to prove that he's not a tax evader.

What is he hiding?

If he was a tax evader, Obama would have offered him a cabinet position. So we know he is not a tax evader...that much is sure. Though I am not sure he was born in the US...

 

[RabidMongoose]

I think that he must be a tax evader and that is why he's not releasing his entire tax history.

Or maybe he has claimed all sorts of weird and bizarre things on his tax forms...maybe he has received millions from some sort if weird fetish website company.

What is he hiding??

 

[cybrsage]

I think that he must be a tax evader and that is why he's not releasing his entire tax history.

Or maybe he has claimed all sorts of weird and bizarre things on his tax forms...

What is he hiding??

His birthplace outside the US is what he is trying to hide. Of course, unless he says he will have a transparent administration, he can hides things as he wishes. But no one running for president would be stupid enough to say they will have a transparent administration and then fight to keep things hidden, right?

 

[UberNeuman]

I think that he must be a tax evader and that is why he's not releasing his entire tax history.

Or maybe he has claimed all sorts of weird and bizarre things on his tax forms...

What is he hiding??

The only thing he's hiding is his taxable income....


\plus the money he funnels for the mob....