Memo To Mitt Romney: The 47% Pay Taxes Too

[웃 910]

Memo To Mitt Romney: The 47% Pay Taxes Too

A secret videotape of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney talking at a private fundraising event earlier this year could revive—in virulent form— the debate Texas Gov. Rick Perry started last year when he complained of “the injustice that nearly half of all Americans don’t even pay any income tax.” The video, leaked to left-leaning Mother Jones (excerpts and a report here), captures the normally cautious Romney at his most candid and impolitic.

Here’s part of what he had to say:

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax….”

Political suicide? I’ll leave it to the pundits to analyze the impact Romney’s comments will have on his election prospects. (It should be noted, however, that while Romney does have an edge among high-income voters, billionaire Warren Buffett is hardly the only rich guy supporting the Democratic incumbent. See Millionaire Towns For Obama.)

But since I write about tax and budget issues, let me make a few serious points about the 46.4% of American households who paid no federal income taxes for 2011. First of all, according to the Tax Policy Center, more than 60% of those non-income tax paying households did pay federal payroll taxes—meaning Social Security and Medicare taxes. (Considering all Americans households, including those that owed income tax, 62% paid more in payroll taxes than in federal income taxes.)

What of the 18.1% of U.S. households that paid neither income nor payroll taxes? More than half of them were headed by a senior–in other words, by someone who paid payroll taxes and likely some income taxes too, in the past. (No, the amount the elderly have paid in does not cover the cost of the Medicare benefits they are now getting. And that is true despite the fact that in a Romney TV adattacking Obamacare’s cuts to the growth in Medicare spending, an announcer seems to suggest otherwise, intoning: “You paid into Medicare for years, every paycheck…. So now the money you paid for your guaranteed healthcare Is going to a massive new government program that’s not for you.”)

Of course, it goes without saying, that those folks who aren’t paying federal taxes are almost all paying state and local taxes—state sales taxes, real estate taxes (either on their homes or built into their rents) and possibly state income taxes too, since those taxes tend to exempt fewer poor families than does the federal income tax. If they buy gasoline, liquor or tobacco, or have telephones, they’re also feeding the federal purse.

Yes, there’s a serious tax policy issue here. The percentage of households owing federal individual income taxes has fallen in recent years in part because both Republicans and Democrats have looked to provide help for working families through the child credit, the earned income tax credit and other “tax expenditures,” rather than through more direct spending programs. That might not be the best way to do things. But note again that the largest group excluded from paying income tax because of special tax expenditures are seniors, who get a bigger standard deduction than younger folks and more importantly, special tax treatment for their Social Security benefits. As I explain here , Tax Policy Center researchers calculate that 16.7 million elderly households will pay no tax in 2011 because of those two breaks and a special low income credit for the elderly. By comparison, the earned income tax credit, the child credit and the child care credit combined keep only 11.5 million households with kids from paying income tax.

Not all of those escaping income taxes have modest incomes, however. In 2009, according to Internal Revenue Service studies, six of the 400 U.S. tax filers with the highest adjusted gross income (meaning AGI of at least $77 million) paid no U.S. income tax, while 19,551 U.S. households with income above $200,000 owed no U.S. or foreign income tax.

So maybe a higher share of the American public should be paying at least some amount of federal income tax. The tax code would be simpler, and probably fairer, if we reduced the number of tax expenditures for the wealthy and non-wealthy alike. We all might give more thought to spending restraint. Then, too, we’re all protected by the military and rely on public infrastructure to get to our jobs, schools, stores and doctors—and yes, to build our businesses.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2012/09/17/memo-to-mitt-romney-the-47-pay-taxes-too/

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Payroll tax is NOT income tax. The 47% refers to income tax and is correct.

I suggest the FAIR TAX and elimination of ALL income and payroll tax.

A lot of those are families that have children and/or college students and can have quite high incomes and eliminate income tax with deductions and credits for home ownership, education, child care, etc. So his statement is stupid, but not for the reasons given in this article

[Dakine10 5,452]

I suggest the FAIR TAX

We know you do. A search for "fair tax" by "Gary and Alla" brings up 139 hits in the last 2 years. Fair tax = good. We get it!!!

Now all that's left to do is convince people outside of VJ.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

from a former teacher of mine:

Listening to those politicians tonight saying they don't care about the people who needs help from the government, made me think of a friend of mine.

He was an animator and cartoonist, about my age, who worked on some big movies. A year ago he couldn't find work, and when trying to shift into teaching, suffered a stroke that left him unable to do anything, even draw. He sold his things, for a time he lived in his car, then in a men's shelter. Now he is on Federal Disability and has low income housing. The Guild and ASIFA/Hollywood jumped in to help as well. He's starting to draw again.

If you guessed his name, please keep it secret to respect his dignity. But If some politicians think a guy like that doesn't matter, I say shame on them.

Because something like that could happen to any one of us, regardless of politics.

I forgot what statesman it was who once said:" The mark of a society is how it cares for those who are no longer able to directly contribute to it."

[lostinblue 1,989]

from a former teacher of mine:

Listening to those politicians tonight saying they don't care about the people who needs help from the government, made me think of a friend of mine.

He was an animator and cartoonist, about my age, who worked on some big movies. A year ago he couldn't find work, and when trying to shift into teaching, suffered a stroke that left him unable to do anything, even draw. He sold his things, for a time he lived in his car, then in a men's shelter. Now he is on Federal Disability and has low income housing. The Guild and ASIFA/Hollywood jumped in to help as well. He's starting to draw again.

If you guessed his name, please keep it secret to respect his dignity. But If some politicians think a guy like that doesn't matter, I say shame on them.

Because something like that could happen to any one of us, regardless of politics.

I forgot what statesman it was who once said:" The mark of a society is how it cares for those who are no longer able to directly contribute to it."

He worked on big movies ....He made big $$$$$$ Typical lib. more like he blew all his money on the good life and crack and never saved a dime. Now when the good days end he does not have a pot too piss in and wants everyone to support him.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

He worked on big movies ....He made big $$$$$$ Typical lib. more like he blew all his money on the good life and crack and never saved a dime. Now when the good days end he does not have a pot too piss in and wants everyone to support him.

Yes indeed everyone who ever falls on hard times is a spendthrift and a crackhead.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

He worked on big movies ....He made big $$$$$$ Typical lib. more like he blew all his money on the good life and crack and never saved a dime. Now when the good days end he does not have a pot too piss in and wants everyone to support him.

You assume much. Animators don't make a boat load of money, unless they are someone like Glen Keane. Secondly, they often go through periods of unemployment as the big studios mostly hire per project, laying off most everyone once the job is done.

There's economic risk in whatever career decision you take, and there's no way to plan or prepare for every conceivable crisis in your life. It could be you having a stroke tomorrow. How long do you think your family can make it on their own without any outside help if a stroke left you permanently disabled? Callousness towards other people's personal struggles are why the Right Wingers are out of touch with most of America.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Romney doesn't give a first ** about America. He loves this country like a tick loves a dog.

[lostinblue 1,989]

You assume much. Animators don't make a boat load of money, unless they are someone like Glen Keane. Secondly, they often go through periods of unemployment as the big studios mostly hire per project, laying off most everyone once the job is done.

There's economic risk in whatever career decision you take, and there's no way to plan or prepare for every conceivable crisis in your life. It could be you having a stroke tomorrow. How long do you think your family can make it on their own without any outside help if a stroke left you permanently disabled? Callousness towards other people's personal struggles are why the Right Wingers are out of touch with most of America.

Secondly, they often go through periods of unemployment as the big studios mostly hire per project, laying off most everyone once the job is done.

Then get a job where you are GAINFULLY employed 52 weeks a year rather than be on unemployment most of your working life. PICK a profession you can MAKE A LIVING.YOU want the working people in this country to support this clown.We cannot support you deadbeats anymore. The well is dry.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Memo To Mitt Romney: The 47% Pay Taxes Too

A secret videotape of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney talking at a private fundraising event earlier this year could revive—in virulent form— the debate Texas Gov. Rick Perry started last year when he complained of "the injustice that nearly half of all Americans don't even pay any income tax." The video, leaked to left-leaning Mother Jones (excerpts and a report here), captures the normally cautious Romney at his most candid and impolitic.

Here's part of what he had to say:

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax…."

Political suicide? I'll leave it to the pundits to analyze the impact Romney's comments will have on his election prospects. (It should be noted, however, that while Romney does have an edge among high-income voters, billionaire Warren Buffett is hardly the only rich guy supporting the Democratic incumbent. See Millionaire Towns For Obama.)

But since I write about tax and budget issues, let me make a few serious points about the 46.4% of American households who paid no federal income taxes for 2011. First of all, according to the Tax Policy Center, more than 60% of those non-income tax paying households did pay federal payroll taxes—meaning Social Security and Medicare taxes. (Considering all Americans households, including those that owed income tax, 62% paid more in payroll taxes than in federal income taxes.)

What of the 18.1% of U.S. households that paid neither income nor payroll taxes? More than half of them were headed by a senior–in other words, by someone who paid payroll taxes and likely some income taxes too, in the past. (No, the amount the elderly have paid in does not cover the cost of the Medicare benefits they are now getting. And that is true despite the fact that in a Romney TV adattacking Obamacare's cuts to the growth in Medicare spending, an announcer seems to suggest otherwise, intoning: "You paid into Medicare for years, every paycheck…. So now the money you paid for your guaranteed healthcare Is going to a massive new government program that's not for you.")

Of course, it goes without saying, that those folks who aren't paying federal taxes are almost all paying state and local taxes—state sales taxes, real estate taxes (either on their homes or built into their rents) and possibly state income taxes too, since those taxes tend to exempt fewer poor families than does the federal income tax. If they buy gasoline, liquor or tobacco, or have telephones, they're also feeding the federal purse.

Yes, there's a serious tax policy issue here. The percentage of households owing federal individual income taxes has fallen in recent years in part because both Republicans and Democrats have looked to provide help for working families through the child credit, the earned income tax credit and other "tax expenditures," rather than through more direct spending programs. That might not be the best way to do things. But note again that the largest group excluded from paying income tax because of special tax expenditures are seniors, who get a bigger standard deduction than younger folks and more importantly, special tax treatment for their Social Security benefits. As I explain here , Tax Policy Center researchers calculate that 16.7 million elderly households will pay no tax in 2011 because of those two breaks and a special low income credit for the elderly. By comparison, the earned income tax credit, the child credit and the child care credit combined keep only 11.5 million households with kids from paying income tax.

Not all of those escaping income taxes have modest incomes, however. In 2009, according to Internal Revenue Service studies, six of the 400 U.S. tax filers with the highest adjusted gross income (meaning AGI of at least $77 million) paid no U.S. income tax, while 19,551 U.S. households with income above $200,000 owed no U.S. or foreign income tax.

So maybe a higher share of the American public should be paying at least some amount of federal income tax. The tax code would be simpler, and probably fairer, if we reduced the number of tax expenditures for the wealthy and non-wealthy alike. We all might give more thought to spending restraint. Then, too, we're all protected by the military and rely on public infrastructure to get to our jobs, schools, stores and doctors—and yes, to build our businesses.

http://www.forbes.co...-pay-taxes-too/

Wow a lot of words to say exactly what Mitt said. They do not pay Income tax.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

from a former teacher of mine:

Listening to those politicians tonight saying they don't care about the people who needs help from the government, made me think of a friend of mine.

He was an animator and cartoonist, about my age, who worked on some big movies. A year ago he couldn't find work, and when trying to shift into teaching, suffered a stroke that left him unable to do anything, even draw. He sold his things, for a time he lived in his car, then in a men's shelter. Now he is on Federal Disability and has low income housing. The Guild and ASIFA/Hollywood jumped in to help as well. He's starting to draw again.

If you guessed his name, please keep it secret to respect his dignity. But If some politicians think a guy like that doesn't matter, I say shame on them.

Because something like that could happen to any one of us, regardless of politics.

I forgot what statesman it was who once said:" The mark of a society is how it cares for those who are no longer able to directly contribute to it."

And if we did not have soooooo many lazy people scamming the system that could work and don't think how much we could help people like the guy your talking about who truly need it. I have no problems paying taxes to help the needy. It's just there are so many that could and don't.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Then get a job where you are GAINFULLY employed 52 weeks a year rather than be on unemployment most of your working life. PICK a profession you can MAKE A LIVING.YOU want the working people in this country to support this clown.We cannot support you deadbeats anymore. The well is dry.

You have no clue about fluctuations in the job market. There are a lot of jobs that are contractual and temporary, but nevertheless important to the economic machine that drives this country. People can and do make living doing contractual work, which in essence is being your own business for hire. And there are plenty of those who do go into other fields when they can't find work, as that animator who had a stroke was attempting to do. Most everyone knows a relative or friend who has fallen on hard times. I pray your family doesn't share your callousness should you fall ill because of your poor diet choices and lack of exercise. Otherwise you may die a lonely man.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Romney doesn't give a first ** about America. He loves this country like a tick loves a dog.

I would disagree.

In another Candid Camera moment, he declares he would be better off if he were Mexican, perhaps because there is a sect of Mormons who moved to Mexico so that they could practice polygamy...

In addition ticks do not store the blood they sucked off the dog in blood banks in the Caymans and Switzerland. If you really think of it, ticks are more committed to the dog than Romney is to America...

The interesting thing is that he seems to put so much interest in paying taxes and the American people are still to see his own tax returns...

Last but not least, I would very much like to know what is the percentage of people like him who make a good living and yet pay only 13% in taxes...

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Wow a lot of words to say exactly what Mitt said. They do not pay Income tax.

Mitt said a lot more than that. And what he said about the people that pay no federal income tax is what's so troubling. About these people, he said:

"All right, there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what."

"And so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

And that is just wrong and it is offensive. I am offended when some asswipe stands there deriding half of the people in this country based on some nonsensical fiction that not owing federal income taxes somehow equates to being a leech that sucks the life out of this country. That not owing federal income tax means that one depends on the government and is unwilling and unable to take care of oneself and one's family.

There are MILLIONS of middle class families making between 50K and 100K that don't owe federal income taxes. There is half a million households making between 100K and $1M that don't owe federal income taxes. There are even thousands of millionaires that don't owe federal income taxes. These people are leeches on the government? These people don't contribute? Really?

How about multi-millionaires like himself using every fancy maneuver available in the tax code moving their funds offshore - and possibly even breaking the law - to avoid taxation? Are those leeches, too? The tax evader-in-chief lambasting middle class families for not paying federal income taxes is some masterpiece of political suicide. I hope Mitt succeeds with his political death wish. I really do. What a disgrace this clown is.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Mr. Big Dog

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Secondly, they often go through periods of unemployment as the big studios mostly hire per project, laying off most everyone once the job is done.

Then get a job where you are GAINFULLY employed 52 weeks a year rather than be on unemployment most of your working life. PICK a profession you can MAKE A LIVING.YOU want the working people in this country to support this clown.We cannot support you deadbeats anymore. The well is dry.

Only the very very wealthy deserve our sympathy and support! Harumph!