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Both democrat and republican politicians that we have in office now are disgusting human beings, who cheat and pad their pockets and create laws to help rich guys skirt tax laws.

until all the lobbyists and all the money is out of govt completely, along with term limits, our govt {or i should say the people in it}will stay corrupt

<<<<Lefties all up in arms about obama's "transparency"

yet looking for a minute by minute update on Romney's bathroom visits. This election is about the economy and obama's failure.

The fool who's spent $2M covering up his past has the hubris to expect anything from anyone. >>>>

What's even funnier are all of your posts about Obama's birth certificate, Larry Sinclair, etc.... and now suggesting that Romney's private life is irrelevant.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/business/in-the-superrich-clues-to-romneys-tax-returns-common-sense.html?pagewanted=2&src=recg

Very interesting information released by the IRS regarding the top 400 taxpayers in the USA from 2009. Tax-loss carry forwards may have been maximally employed by many of the wealthy who derive income mainly from dividends and capital gains:

-6 returns paid 0% federal income tax in 2009(which is unfathomable to me).

-27 paid between 0-10%

-89 paid between 10-15%

-none of the 400 paid more than 35%

So, 33% of the top 400 paid 15% or less in taxes. Incredible.

The top 400 earned 81 billion in 2009 but(legally) payed an effective tax rate of 19.9%. I don't think many of us(majority of us being in the middle class, I would surmise) can say that we have paid less than 20% of our income in taxes during any given year. In fact, the average middle class working person pays a 14.2% payroll tax, plus an income tax, to have federal tax payments in the 25% to 30% range.

Paul Ryan has proposed eliminating all taxes on capital gains, dividends and carried interest. This is pure fiscal abomination. Romney paid a very low 13.6% in taxes on his 21.7 million dollar income in 2010.  Under Ryan's plan Romney's effective tax rate would be an infinitesimal 0.82%.

Capital gains and dividend taxation need to be maintained(and likely increased, but this is debatable). Loopholes need to closed, as they benefit only a few. The tax rates for earned and unearned income needs to debated. It is important to debate why Romney and Ryan advocate decreasing the tax rates for the wealthy and corporations(when the effective rates are so low as it stands) and effectively increasing taxes on the majority of the middle class.

This is also why many are asking, justifiably so, to see Romney's tax returns and view any loopholes and foreign entities from which he may have benefited. Most of us are not privy to these avenues of tax avoidance. Though I doubt anything blatantly illegal was done on his part, he is running for the Presidency and should offer the voters complete transparency in regards to his own tax compliance and the effective rates he himself has paid through the years.

It looks extremely shady otherwise and will cost him votes.

Romney and Ryan in 012!

America needs some R & R form Obamanomics................

Mellow-wolf, good write up (post #38).  With Romney's new VP proposing 0% tax rate on investments (I'm assuming long-term capital gains), the top 400 you mentioned will pay next to nothing in taxes.  Amazing ...