Benefits Of Wealth: Romney Pays Society 42% On 2011 Taxes

[BCSpace]

But to put things on perspective, here’s what $3.2 million in federal taxes — Romney’s estimated 2011 burden — pays for:

— The monthly food stamp allowance for about 23,909 people.

— The cost of educating 302 elementary and high school students.

— The base salary (before bonuses and allowances) of 178 privates in the U.S. Army.

— The federal contribution to the benefits of 636 Medicaid enrollees.

In addition to his taxes, Romney has given around 16.4 percent of his income over the past two years to charity through his family charity, the Tyler Foundation. In addition to donations to the Mormon church, here’s where else Romney and his wife Ann donated money: the Boys and Girls Club of Boston, the Center for the Treatment of Pediatric MS, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Homes for Our Troops, and the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, among others.

Another way of looking at it is that in 2011 the Romneys paid out 42 percent of their income in taxes and charity. Here’s how I got there: Total tax (line 60) + foreign taxes (line 47) + state taxes and real-estate taxes + other taxes (Schedule A, line 9) + charitable contributions (Schedule A, line 19) divided by Adjusted Gross Income (1040 line 37).

Let’s compare this percentage to that of average Americans. A 2009 Urban Institute study found: “The average charitable contribution per return filed in 2009 was about 2.0 percent of [adjusted gross] income.”

As for the effective marginal rate, Jim Pethokoukis writes: “While Romney’s tax rate is — in his own words — ‘probably closer to 15 percent than anything,’ that’s still higher than the 8.2 percent average effective income tax rate (as of 2010) of U.S. households (once you factor in various tax credits). Indeed, nearly half of U.S. households pay no income tax at all. Their average effective tax rate is actually negative. Even if you add in the payroll tax, the effective tax rate of the middle fifth of U.S. taxpayers is 12.8 percent.”

So, yes, Romney is much wealthier than most Americans. But he also gives away or pays in taxes in absolute and percentage terms far more than most Americans.

http://www.washingto...e4qNQ_blog.html

So, to tie this into the earlier eight is enough thread, well-educated and well raised people (such as how Mormons often are and ought to be) are going to be more likely to produce kids who contribute a lot to society. And this is the angle I take when I am criticized for having seven children. So far, it looks unlikely that my children are going to be wards of the state but rather, they will support many people and their societal benefits. Likely not nearly as much as Romney, but it will be significant compared to most and perhaps similar percentage-wise.

[thesometimesaint]

BCSpace:

Rommey pays an effective rate of just 13.9. Not counting his Cayman Island tax shelters with 0% paid to US. The simple reason that more don't pay more in Income taxes is they don't make enough money. I don't begrudge Romney his money. Start a factory, get rich, God bless, but you didn't get rich all by yourself. You depended on the roads we all pay for to make the product that you sold to make money. You depended on good schools that we all pay for to have an educated workforce to make your product. You depended on a police force that we paid for to protect your business from armed marauders. Romney didn't build a factory like Henry Ford. He didn't make the internet or PC's like Steve Jobs, or any other consumer good that makes our lives easier. Romneys' business was to close down factories and lay off the people who worked there, looting their health care benefits and pensions that they worked for. He used other people money to do it including factories supported in part by local, and state governments.

The number and spacing of your children is between you, your wife, and the Lord. I've had any number of inappropriate comments from Church members that I'm not faithful to the Church because I have 3 children. BTW; None of whom rely on the state welfare either.

[KevinG]

I noticed the Romney's charitable deductions were huge- including but not limited to $4.1 million in tithing. I suspect they build a couple of chapels a year. I wonder if the people calling for the release of his tax records will note that his percentage of charitable giving is higher than that of his opponents or if they will "discount" any support he gives the Mormon Church?

[Freedom]

Many people do not consider that most who are retired are in this lower tax bracket because they are all living off their investments. This reduced tax rate exists in all developed countries as far as I am aware. The reason for this is because you have already paid tax on this money before you invested it. In Canada, the tax on capital gains is 50%. So, if you earn $100 in capital gains, only $50 would be considered taxable. Thus, if my marginal rate is 43%, I would be paying 43% on the $50. In other words, I would be paying 21.5%. Dividend returns are slightly better but pure income is 100% taxable. What needs to be considered is if you change the way investment returns are taxed, it will affect everybody. It will affect your pensions, your 401k (RRSP in Canada), it will affect your real estate holding. It is pie in the sky political rhetoric that will likely never be applied because the ramifications are huge. Why invest your money into a high risk capital gain mutual fund that invests in emerging markets if there is no tax benefit? For every Romney with $40 million to invest, there are 4 million Americans with $10,000 to invest. You do the math.

I am not a Romney fan, I believe he is out of touch with most of us, but I also believe it is not accurate to say he put people out of work for a living. This is how the free market works. The companies he closed down were failing anyways. His intervention gave these workers more time and more opportunities had he not gotten involved. And to say it is bad to send jobs to India is to suggest that we live in a bubble. We are in a global market and the entire planet is deserving of wealth distribution and work experience. If on the global scale building a toilet is worth 50 cents/hour then that is what it is worth. Eventually these people are worth more money and the cost of labor increases. The cost of labor in China has tripled over the past few years. We complain about wealth distribution but I would rather be the poorest person in Canada today then the richest person in Canada 100 years ago. We have so much wealth it is, in my opinion, disgusting. If you want wealth distribution, sell your house, your car, live off one meal a day and send the excess to Peru or some other impoverished location.

[BCSpace]

We complain about wealth distribution but I would rather be the poorest person in Canada today then the richest person in Canada 100 years ago. We have so much wealth it is, in my opinion, disgusting. If you want wealth distribution, sell your house, your car, live off one meal a day and send the excess to Peru or some other impoverished location.

That's just it, most of the poorest in the US often have a house or an apartment, a car, a TV, a cell phone, an xbox, food to eat, clothes on their back, access to medical care, etc. Plus they have just as much opportunity as Romney to become richer. Not only that, but it is our Judeo Christian values from which the free market derives that makes us so rich in the first place. I firmly believe we can trace our wealth back to the gospel and if we leave it for other lifestyles or economic systems which are all contrary to the gospel, say amen to our wealth.

[Skylla]

This isn't related to Mormonism. It's purely political.

Skylla