Romney Releases 2011 Tax Returns

[PapaG]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/romneys-release-taxes_652850.html

The Romney campaign is releasing Mitt and Ann Romney's 2011 tax return today. The campaign previews a few of the highlights here:

In 2011, the Romneys paid $1,935,708 in taxes on $13,696,951 in mostly investment income.
The Romneys’ effective tax rate for 2011 was 14.1%.
The Romneys donated $4,020,772 to charity in 2011, amounting to nearly 30% of their income.
The Romneys claimed a deduction for $2.25 million of those charitable contributions.

The Romneys’ charitable donations in 2011 would have significantly reduced their tax obligation for the year. The Romneys thus limited their deduction of charitable contributions to conform to the Governor's statement in August, based upon the January estimate of income, that he paid at least 13% in income taxes in each of the last 10 years.

Additionally, the Romney campaign is releasing a summary of 20 years of taxes, between 1990-2009, detailing their tax expenditures during those years:

In each year during the entire 20-year period, the Romneys owed both state and federal income taxes.
Over the entire 20-year period, the average annual effective federal tax rate was 20.20%.
Over the entire 20-year period, the lowest annual effective federal personal tax rate was 13.66%.
Over the entire 20-year period, the Romneys gave to charity an average of 13.45% of their adjusted gross income.
Over the entire 20-year period, the total federal and state taxes owed plus the total charitable donations deducted represented 38.49% of total AGI.

 

[Eastoff]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/romneys-release-taxes_652850.html

The Mormon Church is quite a needy charity!

 

[blazerboy30]

I love how Romney gave 30% of his income as charitable donations, yet he's a greedy, stingy rich guy trying to screw over the lower and middle class.

Anybody on this board that donated 30% of their income last year, please raise your hand.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

 

[PapaG]

I love how Romney gave 30% of his income as charitable donations, yet he's a greedy, stingy rich guy trying to screw over the lower and middle class.

Anybody on this board that donated 30% of their income last year, please raise your hand.

Nobody on this board gave 30% of their income to charity, and no one on this board gave one penny more in taxes than the minimum they were required to give. Nothing wrong with that, IMO, but to whine about others not being taxed enough comes across as hypocritical to me.

 

[julius]

Nobody on this board gave 30% of their income to charity, and no one on this board gave one penny more in taxes than the minimum they were required to give. Nothing wrong with that, IMO, but to whine about others not being taxed enough comes across as hypocritical to me.

For starters, you don't know that. Secondly, if any of us were worth over 150 million, it wouldn't be hard to give away a lot charity.

 

[Eastoff]

For starters, you don't know that. Secondly, if any of us were worth over 150 million, it wouldn't be hard to give away a lot charity.

Shit, if I knew I could give away 75% of my income to charity and STILL have 1M$ dollars, I'd do it.

 

[julius]

Shit, if I knew I could give away 75% of my income to charity and STILL have 1M$ dollars, I'd do it.

Hell, if I won the lottery (say, 50 million after taxes/uncle sam) I'd work for fucking free at a place where you have disadvantaged kids or special needs adults, etc.

Doesn't make me a better candidate for President though. (see what I did there?)

 

[maxiep]

So now, because Romney's loaded, he should give more? What about President Obama? John Kerry? Any of the Kennedys? President Clinton?

 

[donkiez]

So now, because Romney's loaded, he should give more? What about President Obama? John Kerry? Any of the Kennedys? President Clinton?

I dont think anyone has made that argument. I think they should all pay what the rest of the nation pays. In fact the whole IRS system should be overhauled and changed to a sales tax instead of a income tax, but until then it should be fair across the board. Capital gains is a joke and all the loop holes are rigged. I dont blame Romney one bit for taking advantage of every loop hole available to him though, its the American way and I would do the same.

 

[blazerboy30]

For starters, you don't know that. Secondly, if any of us were worth over 150 million, it wouldn't be hard to give away a lot charity.

This is the most ridiculous line of reasoning and the left constantly spews it over and over.

Who the hell are you to decide how much somebody else can have before they should feel comfortable giving 30% away?

You make plenty of money. You should be willing to give 30% of your income to charity.

 

[blazerboy30]

Shit, if I knew I could give away 75% of my income to charity and STILL have 1M$ dollars, I'd do it.

Well, hell. Since you just magically decided that $1M is the correct number, we can all agree with that.

Everybody should give away anything they make over $1M.

Anybody that doesn't is a greedy asshole even though westnob gave 0.01% to charity last year.

 

[D-Rock]

The Mormon Church is quite a needy charity!

Do you know what the Mormon church does with the donations they receive?

Here's just a few informational sites for you:
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/topic/humanitarian-services
http://ldscharities.org/?lang=eng
http://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/humanitarian-services/#.UFzRio1lQlQ
http://mormon.org/humanitarian-aid

And everyone's favorite informational site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LDS_Humanitarian_Services

 

[D-Rock]

I dont think anyone has made that argument. I think they should all pay what the rest of the nation pays. In fact the whole IRS system should be overhauled and changed to a sales tax instead of a income tax, but until then it should be fair across the board. Capital gains is a joke and all the loop holes are rigged. I dont blame Romney one bit for taking advantage of every loop hole available to him though, its the American way and I would do the same.

I appreciate that you at least don't judge someone for using the laws in place. I'm curious how you think capital gains should be handled? The funds to make the initial investment have already been taxed either as income or corporate taxes. Should they be taxed once over again because people chose to invest their money instead stuffing it under the mattress? Investing is what makes an economy run. Is 30% a good capital gains tax? 50%? What is the appropriate amount of tax on investing?

 

[barfo]

I appreciate that you at least don't judge someone for using the laws in place. I'm curious how you think capital gains should be handled? The funds to make the initial investment have already been taxed either as income or corporate taxes. Should they be taxed once over again because people chose to invest their money instead stuffing it under the mattress?

They aren't being taxed over again. Only the *gains* are taxed.

barfo

 

[blazerboy30]

They aren't being taxed over again. Only the *gains* are taxed.

barfo

What about the rest of the question? What should the capital gains tax rate be?

 

[donkiez]

I am not a CPA so so any number I state will be off the cuff and torn apart in this thread, with the spirit of my message being ignored. Personally I don't feel that anybody should be taxed on any money that they earn, rather we should be taxed on money we spend.

 

[barfo]

What about the rest of the question? What should the capital gains tax rate be?

I'd be fine with treating cap gains the same as regular income.

barfo

 

[ppilot]

I love how Romney gave 30% of his income as charitable donations, yet he's a greedy, stingy rich guy trying to screw over the lower and middle class.

Anybody on this board that donated 30% of their income last year, please raise your hand.

I could care less about 2011's numbers because all candidates have financial advisors who in addition to providing tax advice, also give advice to bet set up your finances from a political standpoint. Statements from 2010 and before would provide meaningful information, but the Romney camp knows that which is why they won't.

 

[blazerboy30]

I could care less about 2011's numbers because all candidates have financial advisors who in addition to providing tax advice, also give advice to bet set up your finances from a political standpoint. Statements from 2010 and before would provide meaningful information, but the Romney camp knows that which is why they won't.

From the original post:

Over the entire 20-year period, the Romneys gave to charity an average of 13.45% of their adjusted gross income.

Raise your hand if you donate 15% of your income every year.

 

[PapaG]

The Mormon Church is quite a needy charity!

Westnob once again proving that the only bigots on this board are the so-called "tolerant liberals".

 

[maxiep]

Westnob once again proving that the only bigots on this board are the so-called "tolerant liberals".

It really is remarkable. What happened to tolerance?

"The New Left: We Accept Everyone...As Long As They Think Exactly Like Us"

 

[ppilot]

From the original post:



Raise your hand if you donate 15% of your income every year.

You are using Income and AGI interchangeably which is a big mistake. AGI is extremely easy to manipulate when you have access variety of income sources and the best tax planners available.

 

[PapaG]

You are using Income and AGI interchangeably which is a big mistake. AGI is extremely easy to manipulate when you have access variety of income sources and the best tax planners available.

He donated $4 million dollars in 2011, AGI or otherwise.

 

[blazerboy30]

You are using Income and AGI interchangeably which is a big mistake. AGI is extremely easy to manipulate when you have access variety of income sources and the best tax planners available.

Grasping... at... straws.

The point remains. Those calling Romney a selfish, greedy, asshole trying to screw over the middle and lower class should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[ppilot]

He donated $4 million dollars in 2011, AGI or otherwise.

That's fantastic, but at the same time this shouldn't change anyone's perception of Romney either way considering that most major politicians get extensive financial coaching to make themselves look more politically friendly. This goes for both Democrats and Republicans.

 

[PapaG]

That's fantastic, but at the same time this shouldn't change anyone's perception of Romney either way considering that most major politicians get extensive financial coaching to make themselves look more politically friendly. This goes for both Democrats and Republicans.

So why is it only Romney's tax returns are a target?

 

[ppilot]

Grasping... at... straws.

The point remains. Those calling Romney a selfish, greedy, asshole trying to screw over the middle and lower class should be ashamed of themselves.

Well if you don't understand difference between the two terms then good luck, and I never once called Romney any of those things so focus your diatribe elsewhere. Bottomline, I find the fact that people are making character judgments about Romney (or any person for that matter) based on how much they donate really amusing. If we are going to make any type of judgement based on donations.... donations as a percentage of total net worth would be a much more useful number, but it's something we will never know.

 

[ppilot]

So why is it only Romney's tax returns are a target?

Because he seems reluctant to release them which causes speculation that he has something to hide (which he doesn't besides being obscenely wealthy)

 

[PapaG]

Because he seems reluctant to release them which causes speculation that he has something to hide (which he doesn't besides being obscenely wealthy)

Why is it obscene to be wealthy?