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Romneys Paid $1.9M in Taxes Last Year

He paid 14.1% on $13.7 million in income

By the Associated Press

Posted Sep 21, 2012 1:03 PM CDT | Updated Sep 21, 2012 4:44 PM CDT

(AP) – Mitt Romney has released his 2011 tax returns: He and wife Ann paid $1.94 million in federal taxes on last year's income of $13.7 million, for an effective tax rate of 14.1%, his campaign said today. That's slightly above the 13.9% rate the couple paid in 2010. Most of the 2011 income was from investments. Campaign officials said the couple filed the return today with the Internal Revenue Service, after receiving an extension. They were to publicly release their full 2011 returns later today.

Brad Malt, the trustee of the couple's blind trust, added that Romney and his wife last year claimed a deduction for $2.25 million of their $4.02 million in charitable contributions, reports the AP. In the previous year, a large percentage of those contributions went to the Mormon Church. Critics, including President Obama, have urged Romney to release more than just the two years of returns and follow his father's model. When George Romney ran for president, he released 12 years of tax returns.

Mitt Romney stands on his campaign plane en route to Las Vegas Friday.
Mitt Romney stands on his campaign plane en route to Las Vegas Friday.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 251 comments
ERICAIELLO
Sep 22, 2012 8:02 AM CDT
"If I pay more taxes than I'm legally due than I think I would be unqualified to run for president"...Mitt Romney on ABC interview. By his own words Mitt is unqualified
Bulls-Eye
Sep 22, 2012 7:59 AM CDT
Only about 99% of you are missing the point.  If you don't like the rate at which Romney pays taxes (even when he pays more than is owed for appearances), bitch at Congress and the President to pass new tax laws.  The average tax rate for the top 400 income earners in 2009 (all billionaires, I believe) was around 13%.  Several paid zero.  That totally sucks, but they are merely following the crappy tax laws we have on the books.  I am not upset at them.  I am upset with the Congress (every Congress) and the President (every President) for allowing these tax laws to exist.
Doctor-Zaius
Sep 22, 2012 7:57 AM CDT
http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2012/Pres/Maps/Sep22.html#item-2 Some points. 1) If Romney took the total deduction for his mandatory payments to his church (Mormons have to give 10% of their income or they can't be Mormons) he would have paid 10.55% in total taxes in 2011. This would have gone against his statement that he had always paid at least 14% in taxes and would have caused him political headaches. Take note of the fact that in 2011 he knew he was running for president. 2) Come November, the day after the election, there is nothing preventing him from amending his tax return and getting a big fat check from the government. It's perfectly legal and he would have to tell no one except his accountants. 3) He's on record as saying that he takes every deduction available to him by law yet these isolated tax returns show he purposely didn't take all of his deductions on this year. Coincidentally it raised his tax rate from 10.55% to 13.87%. 4) Assuming the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 show less capital gains and dividend income due to the economic climate of the time and assuming Romney took his entire deduction for his mandatory Mormon tithes, it is quite probable that in those specific years Romney paid less than 10.55% in taxes or quite possibly ZERO federal taxes.

Copyright 2013 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

 

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