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Romney Pays Less In Tax Than His Secretary
First Buffet, now Mitt Romney. Via Bloomberg:
- ROMNEY SAYS HIS EFFECTIVE TAX RATE CLOSER TO 15%
- ROMNEY SPEAKS TO REPORTERS IN FLORENCE, SOUTH CAROLINA
- ROMNEY SAYS MUCH OF HIS INCOME COMES FROM INVESTMENTS
Next thing you know he too will offer all Republicans a one for one match on all US sovereign debt repayments, and will demand that all millionaires generously hand over their income. As for us, we quietly wonder whether the account clerks at Zurich banks are sweating already?
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Or maybe you, Gully, just keep attracting the wrong type of chick. ;^)
Hahahaahahahhaaha. +1
For the record, I am married. And for the record, the wife is on her own budget.
i'd be more interested in how much he paid when he was still working, if you already have a bunch of money it is pretty easy to legally avoid taxes
If you vote for Romney, maybe he'll give your daughters a place as his house niggers in the new 3rd world sex tourism destination of the world Bananamerica.
Willard. What's not to like? Ruling Class Repub's love him!
(barf!)
I believe you meant to write, "Ruling Class Oligarchs love him!" There's only one "party" in America these days, and it's not symbolized by a donkey or an elephant either.
Who cares? What i wants to know is what does he like better, Pancakes or Waffles??
This must be how it feels to be traded for cigs at a max. security prison...over and over again
If you are not paying an excorbinent INCOME TAX...then slightly above 15% should be a shock to no one except for OWS types who think the govt should be seizing even more assets of the weatlhy and redistributing them as it pleases.
In other news,
Fitch says "Greece will Default".
Here's a link for that story...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-17/greece-is-insolvent-will-default-on-its-debt-fitch-says.html
I believe the sexcretary was giving Mitt bj's on the 01st and 15th of every month..... that is a tax for sure.
So does Buffet BTW
Put the federal government back into the box it was meant to be kept in, and we wouldn't need any federal taxes at all. Ron Paul's 0% is best and the way it should be. Stop stealing my property!
Ron Paul's 0% is another attempt to restore the Constitutional protection of "We the People"
Federal income tax is illegal.
Well, he could fix that by firing her.
First of all that's a lower tax rate, not less tax dollars.
Secondly, let's talk about lowering that secretary's tax rate instead of raising someone else's for a change.
And third, if you make cap gains rates high enough, especially on interest bearing securities, a whole lot less of those (lots of munis in Mitt's PA I would guess) securities will be purchased....feel free to work out the "social justice" math on that.
Besides, with ZIRP, guys like Romney would do at least as well by buying gold and burying it in the ground. How much tax revenue does that generate?
Mitt Zombie!
Crony Capitalist extraordinaire!
Now get back to work peasants!
Mitt and the other Rhino Republicrat Zombies want their pound of flesh!
Debt Brother from Planet 0 and his Demican Vampires need their pint of blood!
Zombies and Vampires need real people to feed off of to stay alive so keep voting GOP and DNC and believing it matters!
(Brought to you by Wall Street, Washington, and the 1%)
Just like the jackass Warren Buffett long term investment income is 15%. IF they were being paid W-2 income they would pay 45% like their secretaries. If their secretaries make long term investment income they too will only pay 15% on that type of income. It's rediculous to make a comparison between the 2 types of income.
The ridiculousness of the people who earn their income via blood, sweat and tears paying a higher rate than "financial innovators" and their sycophants does indeed seem self-evident.
romney is a cunt....i pitty the poor fool who votes for the records shredder in chief...
The issue should be the fact that all of these 15%ers seem to have a close proximity to those who can print up $$ and get utility out of it before it hits the broader market.
Things will always end up this way if you allow fractional reserve banking. Those who can print $$ make out better, no matter what the tax code says.
We always get sucked in to the class warfare debate, which sucks up time and energy and removes us from the proper question.
Why is it banks have the privilege of using OUR credit to print money, then loan it to us, and we have to pay them for it?
pods
And another wave of 'art' tax evasion? I wonder if all that bloody contemporary art bubble burst has ended...
http://www.benlewis.tv/shop/stream-films-now/the-great-contemporary-art-...
edit: fuck SOPA, find it free!
wikipedia has announced they'll be going blank tomorrow to protest SOPA and PIPA.
Why they gotta hate on that fine ass British princess???
And? 15 points on money left over from other taxes paid is a pretty high rate. A better analysis is where are his investments? US or "emerging markets?"
In the 2004 election, the press failed to report that John Kerry was 95% invested OUTSIDE America. At least the dolt Bush was 100% invested in America.
At least he has a birth certificate.
From the Planet Deltron, where his army of virgins sleep.
Yeah, but that's nuthin compared to Obama... I'm pretty sure he has 5 or 6 of them lying around...
Since I went Galt my tax rate is zero. The beast can a suck
The fact that the other candidates (except Paul) go after him for the tax issue indicates that they know something.
I'm also interested if Mittens is banging his secretary like Buffett......oh wait... that's not his secretary that's Becky Squick. Never mind
He just pays her well
Let's get to the crux of the important points here.
You'd just better hope that his first excutive order won't be to classify you as a Canadian Dirtlump...
Well it is on my long form birth certificate so I can only say guilty as charged... beats my brother, the canadina frozen turd.
Other than the batshit crazy religious stuff Mitt believes in, I think his character is lacking compared to others running for the GOP.How was his life different from Ron Paul?
http://youtu.be/zMUBaP0M17E
I don't know why you are all getting all worked up over this. Obama, Romney, it is not going to make any difference. Notice how they never talk about paying down our debt. They will all spend. Romney wants a "stronger military". That means spending more money and killing more Americans. Obama guarantees 16 trillion in debt by election day.
So it really does not make a difference who is in power. We are screwed, simple and plain.
What will make a difference is when the "funding crisis" begins and they take away the printing press from these insane idiots who think they know what is right for us poor sheeples. Not until then will we see real change. And that, I am afraid is still way down the road.
Gold, Silver at least gives me some comfort.
You really think it will be that long before we hit 16 trillion? Hell, by the time the next fascist puppet is done in 2016, we'll be way over 25 trillion.
So, hire good enough accountants and tax lawyers and get away with paying 0 taxes. It's all about gaming the system now.
Romney is not alone. Every one of 1% does the same.
Wall Street investors will receive significant new protections under a plan adopted by federal regulators on Wednesday, an overhaul that comes in the wake of the collapse of MF Global.
When MF Global filed for bankruptcy last year, some $1.2 billion in customer money vanished from the brokerage firm. The firm’s futures customers, farmers and hedge funds alike, are still without nearly a third of their money.
But the new rules would not prevent a brokerage firm from repeating MF Global’s mistake of misusing customer money, nor would they apply to any futures industry clients like those of MF Global.
Instead, the changes affect only customers who trade swaps, complex derivative contracts that allow companies to hedge exposure to interest rates and other financial products. These investors are usually Wall Street banks, hedge funds and large companies.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission voted 4 to 1 on Wednesday to adopt the overhaul.
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/01/11/regulator-adopts-new-customer-protection-rules/?src=dlbksb
See! they get it!! SWAP Protection helps with the Trickle Down Effect!
25 Giant Corporations That Paid Their CEOs More Than They Paid Uncle Sam
It might make sense for a small business to pay its top brass more than it doles out to Uncle Sam in taxes, but what if that company has tens of thousands of employees and billions of dollars in profits? Well, this is America folks. What follows is a list of 25 mega corporations that paid one guy—their CEO—more money than what they spent on their entire federal tax bills last year. The same companies averaged $1.9 billion each in profits—money that was earned, in many cases, by cutting thousands of American jobs.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/09/25-giant-corporations-paid-their-ceos-more-uncle-sam
10 CEOs Who Got Rich By Squeezing Workers
Corporate profits grew 38.8 percent in 2010, the biggest increase since 1950. But while CEOs earned an average of 20 percent more last year, many Americans continued to lose their jobs and benefits. The insecurity of the middle class has a lot to do with how executives are paid. Bonuses pegged to stock prices encourage CEOs to mercilessly outsource and downsize, slashing costs to boost profits. The result is that more corporate leaders are getting paid at the expense of average workers. Here are 10 of the worst offenders:
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/05/ceo-executive-pay-layoffs
The Top 10 CEO's who Fired Workers to make the bottom line seem more profitable so that they could take home BIG Bonuses! Fire the workers! and get a pay raise for doing it! Wall Street Loves the Middle Class! Loves to sell shit to the Middle Class and Loves to Axe the Middle Class for Bonuses!
Sick.
Near
Breaking
Point
Revolution
Must
Happen
To
Protect
Our
Kids
From
Their
Largesse
So why hasn't BHO put forth a budget doubling dividends and capital gains taxes? He is all talk - aka a fraud (as is Buffet - the poster child).
He actually pays no tax and thought 15% sounded like a high number. Shows how out of touch with reality he is.
What do you mean? That reasoning is perfectly in line with the "Founding Fathers" who went to war over 10%.
He's a Mormon friend of the bankers. What could possibly go wrong?
Good Lord help us.
If we have the choice between Romney and Obama I plan to drop out of society for the most part. If they only are going to give me the choice between these 2 than I refuse to play along.
Looks like it and guess what. They don't give a rats ass what you're doing or thinking. They don't care about the 99% which is exactly why they've gotten away with their theft and oppression for so long. If you drop out, they got you where you can do the least harm. The 99% need to take them head on and take them out behind the shed. Do a good job at it and restart society from scratch.
I'm not defending Romney but the title is misleading. If it said "Romney Pays Less In Tax, as a percentage of his income, Than His Secretary" I could get behind it but would ask: so what?
As things stand now Romney probably pays in excess of a million in taxes. Let's assume his secretary makes 200K and pays 35%, vs. Romney's 15%. She thus pays 70K in taxes vs. Romney's 1mm. How is that unfair, exactly?
Income tax is idiotic. I hope Romney gets defeated but I don't think he pays an "unfair" amount in taxes. We all get taxed too much. And too much money gets wasted on bullshit programs and bureaucracy.
If you only make 20k/yr and you have to pay 15%(3,000) in taxes a year you probably have to chose between gas to get to work and food. Whereas Romney’s 15% in taxes is the choice between, well, there is no choice. He can still have everything he’s ever dreamed of with his $200 million. Or so the argument goes for progressive tax rates.
FTFY!
I agree, and I am in favor of reduced taxes for those who don't earn enough. But there's a long way from that idea to taxing everyone based on a percentage of their income.
Consumption, luxury, and property taxes are a much better way to avoid taxing those who can't afford it and leverage the wealth of those who can, while also allowing them to save/invest tax-free if they choose to do that instead of spending.
You are either a pathetic idiot, nickred, or else you work for the predators.
So, either you work for them, or you truly are their mindless prey, as that's all they've ever believed everyone else to be, mindless prey.
Let's avoid the insults. You have your opinion and I have mine. We can have a civilized debate without expletives, I hope.
What additional services or benefits do the evil millionaires receive from the government in exchange for the millions of dollars they pay in taxes, whether that represents 25%, 15%, or 10% of their income? I keep hearing "fair share" left and right but nobody is able to explain to me exactly what that is. I am tired of supporting the 50% of the country that doesn't pay any taxes at all. Is that my fair share? How exactly is that fair?
I make a decent amount of money that I work very hard for, and the government has no business taking it away from me. I love this country and living here. Beyond the obvious infrastructure and defense expenses, I am more than happy to contribute towards a society that is educated, healthy, and prosperous. So I’m willing to pay some of the money I make towards that and help educate or heal those who can’t afford it, or otherwise hit a bump in the road in their lives. But where exactly does that stop? How much of my income is ENOUGH?
Mitt pays that rate because he can. He's not breaking the law, that we know of (unlike Timmah!). He can afford accountants and tax attorneys to establish estates, shelters, incorporations, etc. that reduce his exposure. Good for him.
Start bitching at your representatives. Ask them to relinquish their ability to manipulate the tax laws to help themselves and their colleaques and their financial interests - ask them to relinquish thier ability to trade on insider information (pending legislation that will effect their financial interests) - ask them to stop facilitating the monsterous growth of our government and the empowerment of the central bank.
If they won't listen then vote the fuckers out... stop voting for Republicans or Democrats just because they have an R or a D after their name. Start looking at 3rd party organizations like the liberatrian groups or the constitutionalists. We have to make a difference in the primaries.
The US is fucked in so many ways... we need to get this healthcare reform fixed, SS fixed, campaign finance fixed, lobbying fixed, debt fixed, borders fixed, etc. etc. etc.
you're not a guy at all are you!
The public needs to give the government a tax holiday...
I want his accountant to call me.
You know, I LOVE BIG DUMMIES who talk shit without knowing where funding comes from.
Interstate system. You know how that is funded? 18.4 cents a gallon jackasses. Thats right FEDERAL TAX PER GALLON on fuel. HMM. OK local roads. GUESS WHAT THE STATE HAS TAX on fuel also.
Ok no income tax so where do you get the funding for defense. GUESS WHAT.
The income tax only pays the INTEREST ON THE NATIONAL DEBT. So where does the funding actually come from. Alcohol, tobacco and import/export duties. If we don't take in enough we PRINT.
So long story short. YOU feel the need to support the Gov't, DRINK BOOZE, Smoke Cigs, and ask them to legalize weed so they can tax that too.... WOOHOOO. oh yeah, ask them to STOP SPENDING TOO MUCH.
Private Equity Leveraged Buyout (P.E. LBO) Scam
Private equity leveraged buyouts (P.E. LBOs) typically put up 10% of their own collateral (although Romney would sometimes only put up 5% to 6%) with the remaining 90% from bank loans taken out against the buyout target company. This loads the company with extreme amounts of debt, which greatly reduces their taxes due to the greater tax deductibility from debt interest payments. (Equity dividends are always taxed higher than debt interest payments.)
Next, to reward themselves for doing the LBO – and to pay back their investors with exorbitant interest – the private bankers do something called a dividend recap (dividend recapitalization), taking out further loans against the buyout company – thusly, the private bankers are enriching themselves by further loading the target company with more debt and further reducing their taxes.
Since the P.E. LBO boys and girls are running these transactions through offshore vehicles (various types of SPVs or SIVs), little or no personal taxes will be paid by them and their investors.
All this debt creation – and reduced tax payments – increases the national debt (poorly performing companies, lowered tax payments from those debt interest payments, more bankruptcies) and decreases or reductions in the tax base (increasingly less taxes paid due to laid-off workers, etc., ditto for the increase in offshored jobs resulting from those leveraged buyouts).
There was a dramatic increase (actually exponential in nature) in LBOs this past decade resulting from the use of structured finance loans, i.e., credit derivatives backed by securitizations – better known as fictitious capital or phantom wealth. Ergo, this shadow banking created ever greater destruction of the tax base while concurrently increasing the national debt; the ultimate double whammy!
With the advent of the credit default swap (created at JP Morgan, now JP Morgan Chase, back in the late ‘90s) even greater financial manipulation results: the private equity or private bankers and their investors buy naked CDSes against the LBO target company which they loaded with tremendous debt, so when a bankruptcy occurs, a “credit event” is triggered, resulting in subsequent payouts to the P.E. guys.
Another layer of money for nothing – with the outcome or creating more national debt and the destruction of the tax base and jobs base. Basically, economic destruction multipliers to the max!
Remember, the Federal Reserve Bank bailouts together with those TARP bailouts amounted to from $16 trillion to over $23 trillion, and this went not only to the banks and corporations, but to those private equity LBO firms as well.
In keeping with their near-religious doctrine of using Other People’s Money (OPM), the P.E. LBO firms, such as Bain Capital, Blackstone Group, and others, would use union pension funds’ investments to specifically target companies with union employees for leveraged buyouts. This was in part due both to the ignorance of the unions being played, and top union sellouts like Meany and Sweeney, and whether the company goes into bankruptcy or is left in worse condition, or those very few occasions when the company appears better off (and in the vast majority of times that entails massive jobs offshoring), the private bankers reap the profits.
In other words, the increase in national debt and dramatically reduced tax base is always a win-win situation for the private equity people!
most excellent post, ty sarge. i read this as, a private equity business model whose aim is to collapse companies, collect the CDS profit and prevent taxable profits by increasing borrowing costs until companies go broke. As such, this is a criminal activity and heinous to the public good. What are the chances that this criminal activity is either identified in law or that the perpetrators are ever proscuted of crimes against the people. In this system, I think all you have done is advertised the criminal act and encouraged those of a less than honest disposition to follow the model you so clearly articulated. We are living in times where bad behaviour is rewarded and good behaviour is punished.
"In this system, I think all you have done is advertised the criminal act and encouraged those of a less than honest disposition to follow the model you so clearly articulated."
Actually, no, I was pushing back against the propaganda meme in the American Corporate myth-media which constantly claims that Romney's Bain Capital was a "venture capital" firm --- when in fact it has long been a private equity leveraged buyout firm, specializing in asset stripping and dividend recaps, etc.
Germany, did pass changes in the debt interest payments in their tax laws which now make it much more difficult for the PE LBO'd pump and dumps, and I believe Denmark has also done something similar after the Blackstone Group did an LBO on their major telecom corp, TDC, and by doing so shrunk the corporate revenues in Denmark by an estimated 12%.
Plus, extending the criminality, when private equity LBO firms like the Blackstone Group have gone public, they have bought off congresspeople and continue to pay the 15% capital gains tax, when by rights they should be paying the 35% corporate taxation.
ok, my bad...but still...
BS. Corporations must pay 35% taxes on Earnings paid as dividends or any money paid to investors as capital gains. 35% + 15% = 50%. The 35% Corporate tax is hidden so people like Buffet and Mittens don't understand it. If Bain paid Mittens with a salary instead of dividends (capital gains) he would reduce his tax burden by 15%.
Oh, vote for Mitt. He's like the rest of us...we all have $250 million.