Then you should pick on him for being one of the shitheads who won’t support fair tax reform.
Picking on him for paying a tax rate that abides to the tax law just doesn’t make much sense to me.
How much tax he pays is directly relevant to his claims that he pays too much tax and therefore should pay less.
I, for one, dont’ care.
Well, that’s not entirely true. I care in a popcorn-munching, rubbernecking, spectator kind of way. It’s interesting to me to see how this all plays out and what the political ramifications of the release or non-release of his tax returns are. I’m also curious about him releasing them because I’d like to see just how much he makes and how much he actually paid in taxes.
But I don’t care in that there’s absolutely nothing in the tax returns I could reasonably foresee as making me either more likely or less likely to vote for Romney. In fact, I truly don’t see why Romney needs to release his tax returns in the first place other than it’s been set as precedent from past candidates. It’s not a Constitutional or legal requirement, nor does it give any indication of someone’s ability to hold the office of the Presidency.
Nevertheless, I do care for reasons that go beyond Romney. The tax code in this country is beyond fucked up and the people making the most are not in any way paying an equitable share to keep our economy afloat. Romney is the head of a group of people who call themselves fiscal conservatives but are not, in any way, shape or form, fiscally conservative. They increase spending, slash revenue, run up a deficit, and then blame the other guy because it can’t possibly be the “fiscal conservative’s” fault! If releasing tax records helps us as a society come to the realization that this is happening, then that’s cool with me.
I don’t agree with the rich paying less in tax than middle class or poor, but if I was rich and had accountants working for me I’d take advantage of every deduction and loophole I could too. Assuming he hasn’t broken any laws what the fuck is the problem, what kind of idiot would pay more taxes than they legally have to?
People who are mad at the rich for not paying a higher percentage in taxes should really be mad at congress and/or the whole lobbying and campaign finance system.
Can we be mad at Presidential candidates running on a platform of lowering taxes on the rich still further?
The average solid to lower-middle-class worker pays at least 13% in taxes even if you don’t count the employer portion of payroll taxes, in which case the average solid middle class worker pays a higher percentage than Mitt in federal payroll taxes alone. I don’t see how he can spin this to the positive.
Just for the sake of curiousity, I went to Obama’s returns and looked at what percent of his AGI goes to taxes AND charitable contributions. In 2011, it was 42%. 2010, $41%. 2009, it was 38%.
Which, incidentally, means that Obama gave 21% of his AGI to charitable causes in 2011, 14% in 2010, and 7% in 2009.
The point is that Romney and the GOP are arguing against any tax increase for the wealthiest Americans and in fact want to lower their taxes even further. The question is not whether Romney has complied with tax law, but rather that said tax law is unfair and Romney’s tax returns are a symptom of what is wrong with the system.
Because he wants to keep the tax laws the way they are.
I swear to god almost every single human being on the planet would go ohmygod – ohmy god – forty million dollars – holyfucking cannoli – I can do anything I want for the rest of my life with that money – I could travel – I could fund my kid’s education – I could buy a house in Short Hills – I could hire a maid and never scrub the toilets again – I could tell my asshole boss to go fuck a monkey and my idiot co-worker who spends the day sniffling even though he doesn’t have a cold to take a flying leap – Hell I could pay my idiot bosss to go fuck a money – I could do everything I ever wanted in life even if the feds take of it I’ll still have enough money to bathe in caviar for the rest of my life – whoopie – I’m rich! I’m rich! I’M RICH!!!
Romney looks at the same sum and declares, “To the Swiss bank accounts, Robin!” Then he tells us he should control America instead of Switzerland.
He’s running for the highest office in the land. Picking on was the fucking Swift Boaters and their smearing of Kerry’s heroism. Picking on was / is the damned birthers and their crazy ass allegations. Picking on is NOT asking Mitt to release his damned tax returns just like every other candidate during the last forty years. Or making hay out of the fact that Romney paid a lower tax rate than many Americans including myself.
The part that I find most incredible is something I heard him say on the TV news last night, but I’m not finding quoted in print this morning. Just before his “no less than 13%” line, he prefaced that by saying something like, “I don’t understand why people are so interested in seeing my tax returns.”
Really, Mittens? Really? You don’t understand that? Really?? Talk about a guy who just doesn’t get it.
I also like how he and Ryan keep saying things like “Americans aren’t interested in seeing my tax returns, they’re interested in seeing job growth.” Barf. The Americans I talk to would very much like to see those returns, and anything else that makes Romney look bad.
Yes, that’s fine with me. 
Although it’s still congress that does it, be mad at them.
The whole political system is fucked up, the only way to fix it is to vote out a substantial number of congressmen and replace them with congressmen that won’t pander to the rich and corporations, vote themselves pay raises, etc. Yeah dream on.
This is what the Obama campaign should make itself about.
"Uh, folks, I think Gov’ner, uh, Romney is probably telling the truth when he claims that he pays about, uh, 13% in taxes every year. Let’s stop hounding him over releasing more of shis tax returns–if you believe him when he says he’s paid 13 %, then you’re satsified, and if you don’t, then you’re probably going to be able to find some flaws in the returns, as he and his wife claim. But the real question is–do you really want to live in a country where millionaires and billionaires pay about a third the tax rates that all the rest of us pay? Is that fair? Is it right? Does it make sense?
To Gov’ner Romney, it does makes sense, it does seem right, and he certainly isn’t going to do anything to change a system that’s done so well by him–but I will. I will look for revenue, as I’ve been doing, to help us get out of the hole dug by Republicans who don’t believe in taxing the rich equally. Gov’rnor Romney thinks he’s the solution. He’s not. He’s our problem, and he’s proud of being a millstone around our necks. Vote for him if you want rich folks to pay 13% and run for President on that basis, but vote for me if you want a fairer, more equitable tax system.""
It seems within the bounds of plausibility that Romney took advantage of the 2009 Tax amnesty program to avoid criminal prosecution for non-disclosed offshore accounts.
Which is probably why the Obama campaign would be satisfied with 5 years of Romney returns.
It really doesn’t help to compare figures for charitable donations. We know a substantial portion of Romney’s charitable contributions are just tithing to the LDS church, and there’s no reason to believe they’re performing charitable work with the money.
Holy shit dude! You paid over three million dollars in taxes on your minimum wage job? That is messed up.
Did they specifiy the LAST 5 years?
I can see Romney supplying 2011, 2010, and 2008, 2007, and 2006 and then saying “What? He asked for five years–that’s five. No special reason we left out 2009.”
Really. When I see a guy as rich as Romney trying to wriggle out of paying his fair share of taxes, an amount that is really pretty insignificant for a person of his wealth, I see a person that really doesn’t give a fuck about the United States except as a pot of money he can continue to dip into and pass around with his rich buddies. To me it’s like a normal guy going out to eat and rationalizing ways to stiff the waitress on the tip. Perfectly legal, sure, but why would I want someone who stiffs the US to be president.
The stupid is strong with you isn’t it.
Funfact: Drunky Smurf is so uneducated he doesn’t understand how a progressive income tax works.