Mitt Romney described his remarks about the 47 percent of Americans who pay no income tax as “not very elegant.” The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page said if he can’t give a better speech than that on taxes and dependency, he deserves
Mitt Romney described his remarks about the 47 percent of Americans who pay no income tax as “not very elegant.” The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page said if he can’t give a better speech than that on taxes and dependency, he deserves to lose the election.
It might be bad news for Romney, but it’s good news that he kicked off a conversation about taxes in America. We are starting to understand the 47 percent.
Sixty-one percent of them work, but don’t make enough to pay income tax. They pay Social Security and Medicare taxes; the combined tax rate for them and their employer is 15.3 percent.
Twenty-two percent of the 47 percent are the elderly whose retirement income is too low to pay income tax. Fifteen percent are those with incomes less than $20,000. Some in this group are dependent on government.
Romney’s remarks reflect a frequent complaint from Republicans that too many Americans pay no taxes. They might be surprised to know it is a result of across the board tax cuts under Republican presidents.
According to the Heritage Foundation, President Reagan’s tax cuts in the ‘80s increased the percentage of citizens paying no income taxes from 15 percent to 28 percent. President Bush’s tax cuts increased the percentage of non