BDBoop
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Investigation: Mitt Romney
Well, yes it does. But on the other hand, the rich live by an entirely different set of rules.
Romneys personal tax rate is a particular point of interest. In 2010 and 2011, Mitt and Ann paid $6.2 million in federal tax on $42.5 million in income, for an average tax rate just shy of 15 percent, substantially less than what most middle-income Americans pay. Romney manages this low rate because he takes his payments from Bain Capital as investment income, which is taxed at a maximum 15 percent, instead of the 35 percent he would pay on ordinary income, such as salaries and wages. Many tax experts argue that the form of remuneration he receives, known as carried interest, is really just a fee charged by investment managers, so it should instead be taxed at the 35 percent rate. Lee Sheppard, a contributing editor at the trade publication Tax Notes, whose often controversial articles are read widely by tax professionals, is nonplussed that the Obama campaign has been so listless on the issue of carried interest. Romney is the poster boy, the best argument, for taxing this profit share as ordinary income, says Sheppard.
In the face of such arguments, Romneys defense is that he never broke the rules: if there is a problem, it is in the laws, not in his behavior. I pay all the taxes that are legally required, not a dollar more, he said. Even so. When you are running for president, you might want to err on the side of overpaying your taxes, and not chase every tax gimmick that comes down the pike, says Sheppard. It kind of looks tacky.
Well, yes it does. But on the other hand, the rich live by an entirely different set of rules.