[JayMillz]

I don't think this will be the big story. There is speculation that a lot of money is being hidden in tax shelters overseas.

http://news.yahoo.com/15-why-mitt-romney...00088.html

[thegmanifesto]

I just posted an article where it says he has his dough in the Caymans.

If I paid Romney's tax rate, I would be rich too.

[JayMillz]

(01-18-2012 09:01 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

I just posted an article where it says he has his dough in the Caymans.

If I paid Romney's tax rate, I would be rich too.

OK, I gotta check that out. Might not be good for him politically?

[Menace]

The problem isn't Romney per se. I can get over the fact that he pays a lower tax rate than me and made millions of dollars at a hedge fund. What I think is unfair is that we have a tax code that privileges wealthy individuals by giving them tax-avoidance strategies that are unavailable to middle or upper middle class people (i.e. those whose main source of income comes in the form of wages rather than dividends). For example, the carried interest loophole allows profits made by hedge fund managers to be treated as capital gains and taxed at 15% even though these managers did not risk their own capital, it was all other people's money. That income should be taxed as regular income tax. I'm all for business, but I think our system favors capital a bit too much when compared to wage income.

[Brian]

as much as i defend lower tax rates they really need to close the carried interest loophole.

that being said, even if they did it tomorrow, it would hardly make a dent in our deficit.

[joehoya]

As low as Romney's taxes are now, they would be almost ZERO under Newt Gingrich's plan. Newt promotes his 15% flat tax, but what isn't mentioned is that capital gains (money made from investments) wouldn't be taxed at all. As a result, the wealthiest people in the country (folks like Mitt Romney, who get almost all of their money from taxes) would pay no income tax.

[Brian]

some of this isnt totally fair because if you buy Muni bonds, which lots of rich people do, they are tax free, but they pay a lower yield to somewhat cover that.

[thegmanifesto]

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney bowed to political pressure and cracked the books on his personal finances on Tuesday, releasing tax returns showing he will pay $6.2 million in taxes on $42.5 million in combined 2010 and 2011 income.

Unlike most Americans who earn a paycheck, Romney gets the majority of his income from investment profits, dividends and interest. One of the wealthiest men ever to run for the White House, he made his fortune buying and selling companies as a private equity financier with Bain Capital.

Romney and his wife Ann paid an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent in 2010 and expect to pay a 15.4 percent effective tax rate when they file their returns for 2011.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/2...6U20120124

Must be nice.

Like I said before, I would be rich too if I paid Romney's tax rate.

[ElJefe]

(01-19-2012 02:12 PM)joehoya Wrote:  

As low as Romney's taxes are now, they would be almost ZERO under Newt Gingrich's plan. Newt promotes his 15% flat tax, but what isn't mentioned is that capital gains (money made from investments) wouldn't be taxed at all. As a result, the wealthiest people in the country (folks like Mitt Romney, who get almost all of their money from taxes) would pay no income tax.

Exactly.

I can't say if Romney is a douche or not. But I think he must be one hell of a competent douche, which is what (I think) we need. I also think he'd do a better job of getting bi-partisan deals through.

America hasn't had a competent executive for years.

[Deluge]

(01-24-2012 11:05 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney bowed to political pressure and cracked the books on his personal finances on Tuesday, releasing tax returns showing he will pay $6.2 million in taxes on $42.5 million in combined 2010 and 2011 income.

Unlike most Americans who earn a paycheck, Romney gets the majority of his income from investment profits, dividends and interest. One of the wealthiest men ever to run for the White House, he made his fortune buying and selling companies as a private equity financier with Bain Capital.

Romney and his wife Ann paid an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent in 2010 and expect to pay a 15.4 percent effective tax rate when they file their returns for 2011.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/2...6U20120124

Must be nice.

Like I said before, I would be rich too if I paid Romney's tax rate.

Almost all of his income is taxed under Capital Gains where the tax rate is 15%. There ought to be a hike in the CGT after a certain threshold to close the loophole on shit like this.

(01-24-2012 11:14 AM)ElJefe Wrote:  

I also think he'd do a better job of getting bi-partisan deals through.

That's because he's an opportunistic party hopping hack with ZERO integrity.

[Thorfinnsson]

(01-24-2012 11:18 AM)P Dog Wrote:  

Almost all of his income is taxed under Capital Gains where the tax rate is 15%. There ought to be a hike in the CGT after a certain threshold to close the loophole on shit like this.

Sounds tempting and certainly fairer, but I'm not sure this is a good policy in the globalization era. Capital crosses borders much more freely and easily than labor, and why not invest where capital gets the most generous tax treatment? Sure there's exchange rate risk and the typical home flag bias, but international tax competition is a reality. And one consequence of this is less fair tax systems which privilege capital over labor.

It makes me uneasy, but we'd probably benefit from reducing the capital gains rate simply to increase investment.

Incidentally there IS a movement underfoot to increase the rate carried interest (how the dudes in private equity and hedge funds pay themselves) is taxed (currently at 15% and the origin of this debate) in exchange for lowering the rate at which C-corporations are taxed. Charlie Rangel was pushing this back when the Dems controlled the House and before his latest problems with ethics.