Romney trusts receive more from govt for 2011 than Romney is paying in income tax
What was that about receiving money from the government, again?
Mitt Romney
Friday p.m., September 21, Mitt Romney finally released his completed tax return for 2011.
The date on the filing is 9-17-2012. Thus it was finished right after–first business day after–public release by Mother Jones magazine of Romney’s videotaped remarks about people who don’t pay taxes and want government handouts.
Finished Monday, released Friday afternoon, in one of those document drops traditionally timed for the start of the weekend rather than for the start of the news cycle.
More on the Romneys’ return itself later. The short story is that, for all the complaining Romney’s wealthy supporters do about how much government helps the poor, our government helps the rich more, far more. But as said, later for that.
For now, just a quick note on the Romney trusts.
First, the W. Mitt Romney Blind Trust return for 2011 shows income for Romney’s blind trust of $664,045 from the U.S. government. Top line, after you get through the pages for extensions, etc., is
income from U.S. GOVERNMENT INTEREST: $652,018.
Shortly after that comes U.S. GOVERNMENT INTEREST REPORTED AS DIVIDENDS: $12,027.
Total as stated $664,045, in interest income alone in 2011, for Romney’s blind trust from our gummint.
The same story holds for the other Romney trusts.
The 2011 return for the Romney Family Trust shows
U.S. government interest income at $662,115;
U.S. government interest in dividend form at $90,461.
Total U.S. government interest income for the Romney family trust: $752,576.
The 2011 return for the Ann Romney Trust shows usgov interest income of $362,701. U.S. government interest reported as dividends: $156,157. Total $518,858.
So total moneys received just as interest, from our U.S. government in 2011, by the Romney trusts, came to $1,935,479.
A snarky person might call that the exact amount contributed by Romney trusts to the ‘national debt’ our GOPers gripe about so much. Or anyway the exact amount so far as we know, for 2011.
A few qualifiers, here:
One, as written previously I support buying U.S. Treasury notes, bills, and savings bonds. With interest rates so low right now, it is a particularly patriotic thing to do, and that so many people and business entities around the globe are doing so is further evidence of the solidity of U.S. government reserves. Low-yielding savings bonds are a fiscally conservative form of investment and a safe place to park money.
(Romney’s tax returns do not indicate, so far as I can tell, when Romney or his trusts purchased the Treasury products producing this U.S. government interest income.)
Two, this interest income, handsome as it is, is dwarfed by the myriad tax write-offs allowed by our government to entities like Romney’s trusts, by the pages of paper losses and deductions Romney can legally use to reduce his taxes, and above all by the lower federal tax rate applied to income gotten by capital gains rather than by working.
But wait, there’s more.
Romney reports owing $1,935,708.00 in federal income tax for 2011. He reports paying $3,434,441. That’s an overpayment with refund due to Romney, according to his return, of $1,498,740. (He checked the box applying it to estimated tax for 2012.)
Thus,
to the government: $1,935,708.00
from the government: $1,935,479.00
Difference: $229.00
In short, by some uncanny coincidence Romney’s combined trusts received just very slightly less FROM Uncle Sam, for 2011, than citizen Romney is paying in income tax TO Uncle Sam.