Romney pays less than many middle class people when you figure the TOTAL tax bite one pays to the feds as a percentage of income. This is because 93% of American earners pay a FICA tax on 100% of their income while folks like Romney do not even pay 1%. So when you add that to the federal income tax, you get the results others have mentioned.
And? Your point is what?
Add in FICA and you still only add 2% or so.
So OK...the average person pays 11%+/- effective rate, Romney paid 15% +/- effective rate...
Lets take an income...somewhere around $50K for arguments sake (Thats the number Obama campaign chose so we will use it also)
Campaign ad - "Mitt Romney admitted he thinks it's fair that his $20 million income was taxed at a lower rate than someone making $50,000."
You and others claim Romneys tax rate is less than the rate paid by people making less than $50,000 a year. The claim, though, is open to debate. It only holds up in a particular scenario in which both income and all payroll taxes are counted
You all and president's campaign presumably is referring to Romney's release last week of his 2011 tax returns, which showed he paid an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent.
IRS data, though, shows that Romney's effective income tax rate -- that's what he pays as a percentage of his income once deductions and other benefits are factored in -- is actually far higher than what most Americans pay. And it's certainly higher than what someone making $50,000 pays. IRS data from 2010 shows someone making between $50,000 and $75,000 on average pays an effective rate of 7.8 percent. Even someone making between $100,000 and $200,000 pays a 12.1 percent rate -- also lower than Romney's.
The campaign likely is trying to make the point that Romney's income -- at least the huge chunk of it that is derived from investments -- is taxed at a 15 percent rate, while others who earn their money from a paycheck are taxed at marginal income rates going all the way up to 35 percent.
The latter percentage, though, comes down once deductions and exemptions are included. The Tax Foundation estimated in a report in January that
Romney's rate in 2010 -- which was also about 14 percent -- was higher than what 97 percent of Americans pay.
The math works out better for the Obama campaign's claims if all payroll taxes are included in the formula.
Since Romney earns most his income from investments and not from a paycheck, he doesn't have to pay much toward Social Security and Medicare taxes. But if
both the employee and employer share of those taxes are included towards the employees marginal tax rate, according to a Tax Policy Center chart, the middle tier of earners would be paying a 15.5 percent effective rate. (As pointed out in an earlier report by FactCheck.org.)
Please, get your facts straight before you post things. Dont listen to the pundits and the politicians....here is a very hush hush secret I am going to share with you, THEY LIE. They will lie to you because they know you will not take the time to research it for yourself. You will not take the time away from Dancing With the Stars and American Idol or Facebook long enough to do the research necessary to find the truth.
