what romney paid?

RCCL wrote: Is there a number that you believe he should have paid?

When does his "debt" get fully paid? What would you consider "fair", and why?

Absolutely, he should pay the rate on his compensation that other Americans are required to pay. Even if you or I were able to take our compensation from our labors in the form of equity or profits in a company, we would still have to pay taxes on that at our personal income tax rate, and then pay capital gains on the sale of the equity. Romney did not pay income tax on the compensation he earned, merely capital gains.

Something the Dog Said wrote:

FredHayek wrote: The Dems had total control of the House, Senate & Presidency after Obama was elected and did nothing to fix what you consider a unfair tax code. So blaming the Republicans won't work here. Blaming the boys inside the beltway might work.

Translation: While Obama tonight is going to hammer on economic unfairness when he had the chance to do something about it, he kept the status quo.

All talk, no walk.

Really, that is the best you have? The Dems did not fix the Republican corruption?

Corruption is a strong term. Republicans look to the multi-millionaires as job creators they don't want to force to migrate to tax havens with excessive taxes.
Obama wants those who earn over 250K to pay their "fair share", but when he had the power to do something about it, he does nothing. Vote for me because I say I will tax the rich but then do nothing. All rhetoric with no results. Dems might as well have voted for McCain.

Something the Dog Said wrote:

RCCL wrote: Is there a number that you believe he should have paid?

When does his "debt" get fully paid? What would you consider "fair", and why?

Absolutely, he should pay the rate on his compensation that other Americans are required to pay. Even if you or I were able to take our compensation from our labors in the form of equity or profits in a company, we would still have to pay taxes on that at our personal income tax rate, and then pay capital gains on the sale of the equity. Romney did not pay income tax on the compensation he earned, merely capital gains.

But his capital gain was not a direct income, and I just want to ensure I understand. Whether or not he did it legally through loopholes, are you saying that any person who receives money, be it from capital gain or from income, shoudl pay the same rate of tax?

Something the Dog Said wrote: You guys are such tools! He manipulated his income to take advantage of loopholes in the tax codes that are not available to the middle class. For example, $13 million of his 2010, 2011 income was in "carried interest" that was taxed at the capital gains rate. However that "carried interest" was actually compensation earned through his equity fund. Instead of being paid salary, as would 99.9% of Americans, fund managers take their payment in the form of equity/profits which instead of being taxed at their personal income tax level, are only taxed at capital gains rate of 15%. It has been estimated that closing that loophole which is only available to a limited number of fund managers would save the US over $4 billion per year from only 25 fund managers, including Romney, Soras, etc. So Romney at the same time that Romney was leveraging the equity out of US companies at the cost of thousands of jobs, he was able to also dodge paying full taxes.

He also manipulated his IRA investments as well. If you or I borrow from our IRA for investment purposes, that is taxed at 35%. However, Romney structured his IRA in the Cayman Islands which are not covered by that law, thus allowing him to freely borrow from the IRA for investment purposes without paying US taxes on it.

Whether or not these are legal, they certainly are not ethical, particularly for someone who claims to want to help the middle class.

So you are saying Romney was not ethical for filing his taxes and apparently following the law? If you are taking that stand, then were not John Kerry and John Edwards also unethical back in 2003 when they only paid 13.4% and a measly 5.1% for Edwards? How much press coverage did that get back then compared to what Romney is facing? Please show us your aren't a hypocrite and call them unethical as well. In your world, is Romney more unethical than a tax cheat like Tim Geithner?

And the fact is the rich are not the only ones that get tax breaks. Many of us get them too. Not everyone can afford a home, but those of us who can get a big tax break. Is it unethical for us to take it, since many can't?

You guys complain about the 15% rate on capital gains acting like it's not available to the rest of us. But it is. In fact many of us only need to pay 15% on our regular income as well. A married couple can make up to $90,200 in 2012 and still only be in the 15% bracket (after exemptions and the standard deduction). The rich don't get that. In fact, people in the 10% and 15% tax brackets can get capital gains and owe zero on their capital gains. The rich don't get that "loophole" either. But according to your standard, I guess married couples making $90K are unethical too if they don't pay more than they owe.

LadyJazzer wrote: Sorry...Just being a millionaire won't do it... Newt earned $3.1 million, and paid an effective rate of 31% ... You have to be a quarter-billionaire to get the perks that Mittens gets....

This tells me that Mitt is smarter than Newt.

LadyJazzer wrote: Sorry...Just being a millionaire won't do it... Newt earned $3.1 million, and paid an effective rate of 31% ... You have to be a quarter-billionaire to get the perks that Mittens gets....

I'm all for that... I'm working on it... you want to come along too... or would you rather just be mediocre and whine? I love liberals... striving for the ordinary since FDR.

LadyJazzer wrote: Sorry...Just being a millionaire won't do it... Newt earned $3.1 million, and paid an effective rate of 31% ... You have to be a quarter-billionaire to get the perks that Mittens gets....

Well then John Edwards must be really special (in more ways than one) since he only paid 5.1% on "only" $434K of income in 2003.

And I'm really surprised Newt paid 31%. He must not be so smart.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/oct/26/20041026-090701-1395r/

It should tell you that Mitt started off with a father who was the president of American Motors Corp., and a former governor of the State of Michigan, and that whole load of crap that he "started from scratch" and was a "self-made man" is as much of a construction as those $3000 silk suits.

LadyJazzer wrote: It should tell you that Mitt started off with a father who was the president of American Motors Corp., and a former governor of the State of Michigan, and that whole load of crap that he "started from scratch" and was a "self-made man" is as much of a construction as those $3000 silk suits.

At least John Kerry made his fortune the old fashioned way. He married into it.

Oh, is Kerry running? I was unaware....