Romney's 47% Needs a Revise

Percentage not paying income tax has risen to 45.3% from 2013: Tax Policy Center
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 7, 2015 8:42 AM CDT
Romney's 47% Needs a Revise
In this Oct. 3, 2012, file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during the first presidential debate with President Barack Obama at the University of Denver in Denver.   (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Just when you thought Mitt Romney's "47%" comment, which he said was the percentage of Americans dependent on the government and not paying income tax, had made way for a new election cycle's gaffes, that number now needs another revision. Per the Tax Policy Center, the percentage of US households that don't pay income tax is settled in at 45.3%, the Hill reports—nearly five percentage points more than 2013's 40.4%.

Not that it looks like there's been anything significant causing the rise, the center notes. Instead, "those additional non-payers were there all the time—we just failed to count them [accurately]," the center's Sol Price Fellow says. It turns out the discrepancy can be partly attributed to individuals who never file returns, making it more difficult to gauge the accuracy of the stats, the Hill notes. (Romney's admitted his initial statement was wrong anyway.)

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