Saez & Piketty--Why the 1% should pay tax at 80%

[hfojvt]

38. Where the heck are you getting $250 million?

Romney is taxed on his income, not on his wealth, just like everybody else.

Here is what I find about his 2011 income

"Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney Friday released his 2011 tax returns, following months-long calls to release more detailed information about his personal finances. He paid more than $1.95 million in taxes on nearly $13.7 million in income."

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2012/09/21/did-mitt-romney-release-enough-of-his-tax-returns

Here's then his 2010 taxes

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1167192

Romney's not paying the top rate now, perhaps partly because of itemized deductions. But here's the other factor

"And most of Romney's income - $3.3 million in interest, $4.9 million in dividends, and $12.6 million in capital gains - is made without doing one iota of actual work."

Thanks to Bush Sr, Clinton and JR Bush, neither capital gains NOR dividends are taxed at the top rate, they are only taxed at 15%. Raising that tax rate on dividends from 15% to 39.6% would instantly increase Romney's taxes by $1.2 million.

Here's his tax return for 2011 http://www.taxhistory.org/thp/presreturns.nsf/Returns/9F81699BC7D6DE238525798F0051C35F/$file/M_Romney_2011.pdf

Other than itemized deductions of 4.68 million (and I do think we should get rid of itemized deductions except for catastrophic medical expenses) I do not see any loopholes. The reason he pays a low rate is because his dividend and capital gains income is taxed at a top RATE of 15%. Actually in 2010, the first $68,000 in capital gains income was taxed at ZERO percent.

Even THAT loophole saves Romney about $10,200 in taxes. (although in 2009, it even saved ME some $1,900 in taxes on some real estate that I sold).