Well, the long awaited 2011 tax return is now public.
Romney's income was $13,696,951 in 2011, and he paid $1,935,708 in taxes, an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent in 2011.
Romney listed no income from wages, salaries or tips on his tax return. He recognized $6,810,176 in capital gains, $3,649,567 in dividends, $260,390 in directors fees, and $190,350 in speaking fees.
At 379 pages, Romney's 2011 tax return is nearly twice as long as his as his 203-page return from 2010. A full 267 pages of the latest return are devoted to listing Romney's investments in 34 offshore corporations and partnerships, including 15 in the Cayman Islands. Of the 34 offshore companies, 30 are located in countries considered to be offshore tax havens by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Romney's Swiss bank account, which appeared on his 2010 tax return, has disappeared. His personal Bermuda-based corporation, Sankaty, remains. Romney also shifted $111,081 offshore to a Bain Capital affiliate based in the Cayman Islands during 2011, and an additional $296,471 to a Golden Gate Capital fund, also organized in the Caymans.
Romney also recognized a $102,790 foreign tax credit on his 2011 tax return -- a refund the U.S. government provides taxpayers for taxes they pay to other countries. Romney's decision to forgo some of his charitable contribution deductions leaves him open to criticism from political opponents, who may question why he chose to recognize other tax benefits in the code, like his foreign tax credit. Romney listed a total of $3,505,188 in foreign income in 2011.
Much of Romney's investment income flows from his retirement package from Bain Capital. Unlike most retired financiers, Romney was allowed to receive his Bain retirement as carried interest, rather than ordinary income. Carried interest is subject to the favorable capital gains tax rate of 15 percent, rather than the 35 percent tax rate that the wealthiest Americans pay on ordinary income.
That preferential rate on capital gains and dividends saved Mitt Romney a whopping $1.2 million in taxes in 2011, cutting his tax bill almost in half. He would have paid $3.1 million in taxes without that special treatment.
Just an average Joe.