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But the question really is - How come Harry Reid, who has been in the Senate since Noah's Flood, has not changed the laws so that Mr. Romney could not take advantage of the tax laws and only pay a 13% rate? Sorry for the Rant, but the speech he gave on the Senate floor accusing Romney of not paying taxes without providing proof is Un-American. We don't allow government to accuse with no evidence and then make the accused prove that they did not do it. How would Mr. Reid feel if I accused him of being a sexual deviant and then told him to prove he wasn't? It is a very "small minded" issue when looked at in perspective. Gas prices are soaring again, Unemployment hasn't been south of 8% in 4 years, and congress can't even work to save the post office. How much a candidate "legally" paid in taxes under the current law is a very small issue. How many years of returns he provided (when he complied with the legal requirement) is a small issue too. He provided what the law says he has to. I want to see Obama and Biden show me where they paid more than the law said they had to on their tax returns..... Rant over..... and I don't even like Romney. Tom Hollister, CA

Well... ATX software calculates "Average Tax Rate" by using "Taxable Income" line 43 to "Total Tax" line 61. I think this is fair as everyone should be allowed adjustments, deductions, and credits under the law. I expect that many complaining about 13% are paying 0% tax, $0 paid in, but with a tax refund. We have a crazy tax system any way you look at it.

>>overall effective tax rate<< I have many awkward moments with clients concerning this calculation. In my software it means Line 61 total tax divided by Line 22 total income. That does not include non-taxable or deferred income, nor non-deductible or deferred expenses. Using AGI instead of Line 22 can bump it up. Allocating amounts to separate spouses is really confusing, and year-to-year comparisons are almost meaningless when bunching income and expenses. How do depreciation with recapture, AMT with credit, carryovers, and Lines 64-71 credits treated as payments change the "effective rate"? Not to mention shifting income or expenses to another entity. On a national scale, the IRS can assemble some useful statistics with these numbers. In my opinion, there are too many variables to be of much value in individual tax planning. Most of my clients, however, disagree.

Hello Jack, I live about 20 minutes from the venue and my office is just a few blocks away. I will be driving to my office and just walking over, but maybe we can meet at the place. Marco

In todays world if you are not "political" you are ignoring what is happening and should not be allowed to vote in elections. In years gone bye citizens could mostly go about minding their own business and not be affected by what happens in government. Today, if you want a job, want to keep a job, or want a future for your children, you best pay attention to what is going on! I am so damn old that nothing is going to change for me by whatever happens, but younger folks are fools, or don't have any common sense, if they don't take a serious look at our current federal government and its policies.

LOL ............ I agree and have always written my correspondence to the IRS on that level. One case I had was that a client had to prove they had made a payroll tax payment, so they copied their canceled check front and back, cut to check size gluing back to front to make it look like a check so a 3rd grader would recognize what it was. You guessed it..... the IRS cashed it and the bank processed it leaving the client with paying the tax twice. It took a lot of correspondence over a year from me to get it cleared up. LOL

Yeah - Why the hell didn't Harry Reid make the laws so that everybody pays the same. What a Jerk Harry is, because it is his fault (as president of the Senate) that we don't have a flat tax so everyone can pay the same rate. It is also Harry Reid's fault (since he is in charge of making the laws right now) that we don't have a law requiring those running for public office to display for all to see 20 years worth of Tax Returns. And it is Harry Reid's fault that we don't have a law requiring all candidates for public office prove they are eligible by doing things like...I don't know.... showing their birth certificate maybe.... proving their age and citizenship... things like that, before they can be put on the ballot. If we didn't have that damn Harry Reid screwing things up, this would be a much better world. OH - sorry, this was not supposed to be political. Tom Hollister, CA