tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737450142880120395.post2472987425541444836..comments2023-10-07T04:04:19.391-07:00Comments on Economystified: "The 47%"Economystifiedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721219444051369880noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737450142880120395.post-87202476008665494602012-10-02T13:54:05.754-07:002012-10-02T13:54:05.754-07:00What Andrew is referring is a way that you can act...What Andrew is referring is a way that you can actually INCREASE your tax rate (namely not opting to take all the deductions that are available to you).<br /><br />Romney appears to have done so just that - paid an extra quarter million in taxes in 2011. The question is why? Did he overpay his taxes because his accountant goofed up? Did he just not want the hassle to file for the deduction?<br /><br />Or did he do it for a political reasons? Earlier in the campaign trail, Romney stated that he never had paid LESS THAN 13% in taxes. Some speculate he monkied his tax bills UP in 2011 to make sure he stayed below that 13% mark. (He should have been more image conscious and "chosen" the maximum 35%.)<br /><br />So ok, yeah. I said in the post “an individual can’t choose his own tax rate,” implying “can’t choose HOW LOW his tax rate is.” <br /><br />But yes, you could “chose” to make it higher. You can opt out of your deductions. <br /><br />But Romney here represents one hell of an exceptional case. I can’t imagine many people are going out of their way to raise their tax bill. <br /><br />And either way, this isn't really relevant to what I'm saying here. <br /><br />Romney’s tax bills are so low its newsworthy IN THE FIRST PLACE due to issues completely outside his control. But he seems to have figured the electorate are faulting him for it anyway. It might just be me, but someone feeling compelled to inflate a tax rate imposed on them by someone else as part of a strategy appear more electable - is really bizarre. <br /><br />Seems to imply to me that NO ONE is happy with how low some of these tax rates are! The public's ticked with the guy who isn't paying much, and the guy who isn't paying much is so ashamed of it, he's trying to fool the IRS into OVERBILLING him!!<br /><br />Tax loopholes and accounting dances (to limit your tax bill – or raise it, I guess) are legal. Yeah, they obey the letter of the law and not the spirit, but they’re legal all the same. Asking the Fed Govt to close them is the ONLY way to make sure NO ONE uses them.<br /><br /><br />For more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/romney-paid-required-raising-tax-rate-141-percent/story?id=17291504#.UGtJL66aut8<br /><br />http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/21/romney-cut-deductions-on-2011-taxes-to-maintain-campaign-pledge.html<br />Economystifiedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13721219444051369880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737450142880120395.post-60042792900392619672012-09-30T00:48:24.082-07:002012-09-30T00:48:24.082-07:00I'd like to come up with some witty scathing c...I'd like to come up with some witty scathing comment about Romney's twisting of the facts in this quote, but I can't. It's just some (/most?) politicians' modus operandi.Eric Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07489654959314387821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737450142880120395.post-70232992646543046402012-09-28T10:56:10.333-07:002012-09-28T10:56:10.333-07:00Both Romney and the study pointed out they meant i...Both Romney and the study pointed out they meant income taxes, even though his conclusion from this is that "the government should give [services and programs] to them": so he cited the facts more or less correctly and interpreted them incorrectly. <br /><br />Separately, there are exceptions to choosing your tax rate: you can pay a higher tax rate any time by lowering what you deduct. This would be a nitpick, except that's actually what Romney did. http://bit.ly/PwuMdqAndrew Trembleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12341029104618001269noreply@blogger.com