I say… enough! Here are Romney’s taxes and everything he did is within in the law. Making money and managing it well in a free-market capitalistic society should be considered a good thing to be emulated, not a bad thing. Romney did not inherit his money… he earned it. And he pays the required taxes on it (more taxes than 97% of America) and he tithes more than 10% back to his church, as the Bible calls on all Christians to do, plus gives a lot to charity! Don’t like the law… lobby to have it changed or let’s move to a flat or fair tax. But remember… Romney did not inherit his money and the great thing about America is that anyone can become a millionaire. Maybe he can manage our county’s finances as well as he has his own and can turn our nation around?!? (Gingrich was not even able to manage the money for his presidential campaign effectively and ended up having his advisors and staff mis-use and steal it… Is that really what we need in the financial mess we find ourselves in as a country? That is why Gingrich was not able to participate in the Iowa Straw Poll.)
On the list(s) of most beloved American Presidents, ranging from one of the poorest to the richest, are: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, JFK, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton in varying order and depending who you are polling. (Although President Obama, in a recent speech has said he is the 4th greatest president of all time… no modesty issues there!) Another interesting observation is that Teddy Roosevelt whose head is one of the four at Mt. Rushmore, thanks to his cousin FDR, is never on the most beloved or most influential U.S. Presidents lists. On the Five last week, both the libs and conservatives on the panel agreed that if Newt and Obama end up being our 2012 Election candidates, by the time the election is over they will have parleyed themselves up on the same level as God?!?)
An interesting side note: in today’s money… George Washington was the richest American President we have ever had and Mitt Romney, although very wealthy, would not be the richest. Thomas Jefferson, FDR and JFK were also extremely wealthy; JFK lived off his expense account almost exclusively. And John Heinz, had he have been elected would have been one of the richest. The Bushes are no pikers either! Even our “redistribute the wealth President, Obama, is a multi-millionaire”.Tuesday, 24 Jan 2012 12:28 AM
Tax Returns: Romney Made $20.9 Million Last Year, $21.7 Million in 2010
By Newsmax Wires
Mitt Romney made $21.7 million in 2010 and $20.9 million last year — virtually all profits, dividends or interest from investments, according to an early release of his tax returns.
The partial snapshot of the Republican presidential hopeful's vast personal fortune came early Tuesday after the Romney campaign provided a preview Monday night to the media. A full release is expected today.
None of the income came from wages, the primary source for most Americans. Instead, Romney and his wife, Ann, collected millions in capital gains from a profusion of investments, as well as stock dividends and interest payments, the Post reported, citing the tax returns.
The Romneys gave away $7 million in charitable contributions over the past two years, including at least $4.1 million to the Mormon Church.
They paid an estimated $6.2 million in federal income taxes. According to Romney's 2010 tax return, he paid about $3 million to the IRS, for an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent, the Post reported. For 2011, Romney estimates that he will pay about $3.2 million, for an effective rate of 15.4 percent, which is in line with his earlier estimates.
He said previously that he estimates his net worth at $190 million to $250 million.
Romney, who earned most of his wealth after co-founding private equity firm Bain Capital, bowed to weeks of public pressure by disclosing his 2010 federal tax return and a tax estimate for 2011.
His surging rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich, released a form 1040 — the standard income-reporting form for American taxpayers — with attachments last week, showing his income for the year was about $3.1 million and his effective tax rate more than 31 percent. Some sources of Gingrich's income were unclear because he earns most of his wealth through a holding company for enterprises such as his consulting and production companies.
Romney did not release tax returns from his time at Bain Capital. Romney co-founded the firm in 1984 and worked there until 1999. Tax returns from those years might show how Romney built the bulk of his fortune and would provide a more comprehensive picture of his wealth but the campaign said it would not be releasing them.
Romney's campaign lawyer Ben Ginsberg told reporters late on Monday: "Frankly we're not going to get into the game of once you give them something, you demand more. This is a fulsome release and we are very proud of it."
Even at more than 500 pages, the returns offer a narrow look into a working life of high income, and questions may persist over fairness in taxation. "The tax returns are very complicated compared to those of many Americans," said Brad Malt, director of Romney's trusts.
The effective tax rate is the actual tax rate paid after accounting for deductions, credits and the like. An individual might make enough to place among the richest Americans taxed at 35 percent but with deductions and alternative types of income, the actual rate paid can be much lower.
Like many of the wealthiest Americans, Romney gets most of his income through investments, so his rate trends lower in large part because of the 15 percent tax rate on capital gains. Romney had total capital gains income of $12.5 million for 2010 and an estimated $10.7 million for 2011.
Much of Romney's fortune likely qualifies as what is known as "carried interest," a share of profits earned by private equity managers taxed at the 15 percent capital gains tax rate rather than the maximum 35 percent wage rate. Private equity managers, some hedge fund executives and venture capitalists benefit from carried interest.
Campaign officials said Romney had carried interest of $7.4 million in 2010 and $5.5 million in 2011.
Critics say the 15 percent rate for carried interest is an unfair tax break because investment managers, as Romney was, are providing a service that should be taxed at the higher rate paid by wage earners.
Democrats in Congress have come close to raising the rate to have it equal the rate paid on "ordinary" or wage income but fierce lobbying has paid off so far for the private equity, venture capital and hedge fund industries.
The release shows Romney has a $100 million trust set up for his five sons. The campaign said the Romneys paid no gift taxes on the trust because they were able to use credits related to estate tax.
Romney's investment funds run through Bain are in offshore tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, a practice the campaign insists is legal and common but that has come under some criticism during the campaign.
The Romney campaign's answer to questions on this front has been that he does not control the makeup of the funds because they are run as blind trusts.
Some of these investments also are held through two Individual Retirement Accounts and investing IRAs offshore can eliminate all taxes until withdrawals are made.
Malt said that at one point money had been placed in a Swiss bank account and that this had been meant to diversify the portfolio but, aware that some such accounts are used to evade taxes, Malt decided to close it in early 2010 to remove a potential source of embarrassment. He said the account was never meant to evade taxes, and no taxes went unpaid.
As a devout Mormon, Romney gives away at least 10 percent of his income to the Mormon church, a practice known as tithing.
The documents showed he and his wife, Ann, contributed more than $7 million in charity over the two years, averaging over 16 percent of his income.
Source: Newsmax - All rights reserved.
Read more on Newsmax.com: Romney's Tax Returns: Mitt Paid Less than 15% taxes on almost 22 million.
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*Romney has now released his taxes for 2010 and 2011. Gingrich has released his for 2010. Santorum says he does his own and won’t be able to release them until he gets back home at some time because they are on his computer. And Paul says he won’t be releasing his because he makes so little compared to everyone else, it would be embarrassing, plus it is not required!! Yes folks… it is not required. All Candidates fill our volumes of documents when they run including extensive financial disclosure forms, but tax returns are not required.
*In a special interview with Mitt Romney on Hannity it was pointed out that the taxes on this money is a second bite of the apple. Romney is paying 15% on the bulk of the funds in these returns because he is now living on investments so is paying a capital gains tax. Corporate taxes were already paid on these funds and now the Romneys are paying an additional 15% on these funds. So when you add the corporate taxes, the capital gains taxes on the re-invested money and his charitable contributions, Romney pays somewhere between 34% and 42%.
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