FLORENCE, S.C. — Bowing to pressure from his Republican rivals as well as the Democrats, Mitt Romney told reporters here Tuesday that he plans to release his federal income tax returns this spring and estimated his rate at about 15 percent.Read the rest here.
“What’s the effective rate I’ve been paying? It’s probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything,” Romney, a GOP presidential candidate, said. “My last 10 years, I’ve — my income comes overwhelmingly from investments made in the past rather than ordinary income or rather than earned annual income. I got a little bit of income from my book, but I gave that all away. And then I get speaker’s fees from time to time, but not very much.”
This means Romney is paying a tax rate well below what most working class Americans pay. I also take note that he is delaying the release of his income tax returns, presumably until after he has wrapped up the GOP nomination.
A typical family of 4 living in a modest home will have an effective rate far below 15% because families get a $1000 per child tax CREDIT, coupled with deductions like mortgage interest and property taxes. The typical effective tax rate for those puts a family at about 5-8% in most cases.
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