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You're missing the point. If you spend most of what you earn, that's an additiona 10% (in my state) on sales tax. Most very wealthy don't spend nearly what the

• twoodfin 14y ago
  How am I missing the point? First the claim was that Mitt Romney pays a "lower than average income tax rate", which is demonstrably untrue. Then the claim was that he pays a "lower than average Federal tax burden" and that the income tax as a burden on the average American was "negligible" relative to their payroll tax burden. I didn't even bring up the fact that Bain pays corporate income taxes on its profits before they're disbursed to owners like Romney. Even discounting that, the average person's Federal tax burden is still lower than Romney's, assuming he's being truthful when he says his income rate was never lower than 13%. And the average American's income tax burden is not "negligible" relative to the payroll tax burden: it's about 50/50. Now you're trying to bring state taxes into it. Guess what: Romney makes most of his money off of capital gains and is a Massachusetts resident, where long term capital gains are taxed at 5.3%. Yes, Romney could "afford" a much greater tax burden. He could "afford" a tax burden of 95% and still live comfortably. That's not an argument (or at least a good one) for such a thing. It's also not the point under debate (that somehow the rate of taxes he pays is lower than the average American's).
  • scarmig 14y ago
    You're speaking inaccurately. People in the middle 20% paid an effective rate of 15.5 percent. And trying to add in corporate tax rates is a bit-too-clever slight of hand.