Most underreported Romney story IMO: is he paying "under the table" to upkeep his mansions?

[K8-EEE]

http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html?t=11235592#page:showThread,11235592

WASHINGTON -- For a woman with three houses and sixteen grandkids, Ann Romney doesn't have very much help around the house, according to her 2010 tax return.

IRS forms released Tuesday by Mitt Romney's presidential campaign show that despite reporting income of $21.7 million, the couple paid only $20,603 in taxable wages for household help in 2010. This figure was divided among four women: Rosania Costa ($4,808), Kelli Harrison ($8,667), Susan Moore ($2,238) and Valerie Cravens Anae ($4,890).

Come on -- I know people that maintain little 2 bedroom vacation houses that they rent out and pay probably $8,000 to keep them up. There is NO WAY they are maintaining all these mansions on $20,000! And don't tell me Ann R-money is cleaning them all herself.

This is one of those stories where if we actually HAD a liberal media, people would be asking them about this - and for his previous tax returns too please!

[K8-EEE]

1. btw I think a lot of Latinos especially kids of immigrants totally "GET" the Romneys

This is why Obama is leading with the Latinos. They GET the Romney's and "how hard they work..." And how much they value people who really work hard including the ones working to upkeep their mansions, gardens, raise their kids etc.

[spiderpig]

2. I'm sure he is.

Jerk.

[JNelson6563]

3. I have wondered about this too.

All that property takes only 20,000 in staff a year to maintain! Wait, what?

Julie

[ehrnst]

4. They may contract out with companies for most stuff

Maid service, lawn care, etc.

But the bizzarely small payments to those four women? What sort of direct employees could they be? Perhaps they are the go to sitters or nannies for grandkids?

[yellowcanine]

5. He could be paying contractors for cleaning and maintenance work at his houses.

It would not necessarily show up as wages. I don't think this is a useful line of investigation.
If I pay a cleaning service to come clean my house or a lawn service to mow my lawn it does not show up as wages.

[The Wielding Truth]

6. Only 3 houses? I thought they had more.

[Sheepshank]

7. to be honest, I'm not sure about the taxable assumptions on this

the article talks about taxable wages.

The loophole being, if the Romneys hired a company to provide those services, they pay a contracted agreement with the company and that company would pay their employees a taxable wage.

Housecleaning can be done through a company such as Merry Maids, grounds keeping could be done the same way, as can the upkeep and maintenance of the pools. Taxable wage would be for housekeepers, personal assistants and nannys etc they hired directly and not through an agency that provides those services. In addition, in case thast of multiple businesses, any one of Romney's periphera business could have done some of the hiring and paid the taxable wages. We just don't know all the info.

[bahrbearian]

8. See what wonderful jobs Mitch can create.

[politicasista]

9. What you hiding Mute? n/t