Does Romney Want to Hide the Fact That He Pays a Lower Rate Than Hardworking Middle Class Pennsylvanians?
Keystone Progress, a multi-issue advocacy organization, confronted Mitt Romney today, calling on him to immediately release his tax returns, something he has never done during his two decades of running for or holding elective office.
A recent Time Magazine report indicated that Romney, who is worth as much as $250 million, may pay a tax rate as low as 14 percent - a rate lower than many hardworking middle class Granite State families. Without seeing his tax returns, it's impossible to know how Romney is making his millions and what his exact tax rate is.
"What is Romney hiding?,'" asked Keystone Progress Executive Director Michael Morrill. "I think he is trying to hide the fact that he pays a lower tax rate than many middle class Americans. If that's true, then we have a right to know, especially when he's suggesting tax policies that will cut taxes for the wealthy even more, while making working families pay more."
Romney's estimated tax rate of just 14 percent is less than half the rate (29.9%) a typical middle class American making $60,000 a year would pay. Romney and many other millionaires are able to pay a lower tax rate because they earn their money largely from investments, which loopholes allow to be taxed at a lower rate than the wages that makeup most or all of the income of most middle class Americans.
"It's outrageous that millionaires like Mitt Romney take advantage of loopholes that allow them to pay less than bus drivers, factory workers or police officers," Morrill added. "It's time to come clean and let the American people understand what is really driving his policy decisions."
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