Deductive Reasoning

One interesting point in the latest Romney tax return is that they underreported their charitable donations for tax purposes.

Romney and his wife, Ann, gave just over $4 million to charity, the campaign said. The amount includes more than $1 million in cash to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and more than $200,000 to the Tyler Foundation, which serves families of children undergoing treatment for epilepsy. They also reported more than $900,000 in noncash contributions.

But the couple chose to deduct only $2.25 million of their charitable contributions. The reason was "to conform" to Romney's statement last month that he never paid less than 13% in income taxes over the past 10 years, Brad Malt, a lawyer who presides over the Romneys' blind trust, said in a statement.

So, they Romneyes gamed their tax return so they didn't look like they were gaming their return; they paid more than they had to in order to not look bad.

It's also good to note that Mitt's more generous with his money that his foes; their strong suit is being generous with other people's tax money.

Also, it's fair to note that 10% is the top rate on dividends, so the 14% figure isn't fishy; Romney got the lion share of his income from investments. Company's paying dividends have to pay taxes on the income that gets payed out at dividends, so that 10% is in addition to the 34% or so that companies pay in federal income taxes.

Comments

[NKR]

The two-page summary of his twenty year tax records is unclear and ripe for inferences. Says he owed taxes every year, then later that he paid all outstanding taxes. In 2010, he closed his account with UBS. One could draw the conclusion that he took the 2009 tax amnesty.