Romney: I Paid At Least 13% Tax Rate for Last 10 Years

Even though Ann "Marie Antoinette" Romney sullenly said that no more tax returns would be released by she and her husband, GOP presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, the tax return issue simply refuses to go away.  Now, trying to quell the continued uproar, Mitt "Pinocchio" Romney has stated that he and Marie Antoinette have paid at least a 135 tax rate for each of the last 10 years.  Other than Romney's statement, however, there is nothing to confirm that Romney's not lying.  Given Romney's lack of honesty on when and how he left Bain Capital, taking the man at his word is a risky proposition.  And that's not even addressing the issue that Romney is paying a far lower rate than many struggling members of the middle class.  Here are highlights from a Washington Post piece:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Thursday that he has paid a federal income tax rate of at least 13 percent in each of the last 10 years, bowing to months of political pressure to disclose more information about his vast personal fortune.

“I did go back and look at my taxes, and over the past 10 years I never paid less than 13 percent. I think the most recent year is 13.6 or something like that. So I paid taxes every single year,” he told reporters here Thursday.

 Romney’s disclosure Thursday came in response to a reporter’s question at a news conference Romney had hoped would focus on a white-board presentation he gave outlining his latest attack on Obama over Medicare. . .  . Romney sounded rankled by the very question, though, saying, “the fascination with taxes I’ve paid I find to be very small-minded compared to the broad issues that we face.”

If the candidate hoped his answer would put the issue to rest, he ended up only inviting more questions. Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt quickly challenged Romney to “prove it.”   “He has the ability to answer all of these questions by releasing several years of tax returns. He simply hasn’t done that,” LaBolt told reporters on a conference call. LaBolt noted that Romney’s father, George, released 12 years of income tax returns when he ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968.

In 2011, Obama paid an effective rate of 20.5 percent, according to his tax returns. Americans paid an average tax rate of 17.4 percent in 2009, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office that was released last month.

In an interview with NBC’s “Rock Center” that aired Thursday, the candidate’s wife said Democrats wants the records for “ammunition.” “The more we get attacked, the more we get questioned, the more we get pushed,” Ann Romney said, adding that the couple has been “very transparent to what’s legally required of us.”

Reid said Romney could prove his statements true by making his records public. “We’ll believe it when we see it,” said the spokesman, Adam Jentleson. “Until Mitt Romney releases his tax returns, Americans will continue to wonder what he’s hiding.”

At his news conference, Romney suggested that his charitable contributions should also be taken into account. “Every year, I’ve paid at least 13 percent, and if you add, in addition, the amount that goes to charity, why the number gets well above 20 percent,” Romney said.

As for Romney's "charitable contributions." giving millions to the Mormon Church which then spends the money on business ventures or supporting discriminatory laws and legislation isn't what I consider a true charitable contribution and illustrates why we need major changes in what is deductible under the tax laws.  We as a nation need to stop subsiding religion, especially denominations that market hate, bigotry and societal discord.