Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)- Guest Blogger
In light of Elaine’s excellent discussion of the radical voting record of Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential pick, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, I got to thinking just why would Romney pick such a radical Congressman to be be his Vice President? I understand that Mr. Romney would want an individual who has conservative credentials to improve his standing within his own adopted party and within the Tea Party. But Mr. Ryan has serious baggage with his now infamous Ryan Budget that attacks the middle class and the poor, all for the purpose of retaining and enlarging tax cuts for the wealthy. Why would Mitt take on Ryan’s baggage when he is facing challenges on his lack of transparency on his tax returns?
It seems that the answer to those questions may all relate back to the Koch Brothers and the princely sum of $100 Million dollars!
According to long time Republican operative, Roger Stone, the Koch Brothers may have “purchased” the Vice Presidential choice from the Romney campaign for a promise to spend $100 Million in various Republican Super Pac funds and the so-called C-4 funds to attack the Obama campaign and support the Romney/Ryan ticket! “Here is how Stone led his latest post, headlined “The Paul Ryan Selection, “which also delivers an amusing swipe at a certain Fox News analyst:
I’ve waited a few days to lay out my analysis of the selection of Paul Ryan for the VP slot on the Romney ticket. Unlike politicos like Dick Morris who badmouths the selection privately and shills for it publicly, I’ll tell you what I really think. My sources tell me David Koch played a key role in Ryan’s selection and that Koch’s wife Julia had been quietly lobbying for Ryan. The selection was cemented at the July 22nd fundraiser Koch held for Romney at the former’s sumptuous Hamptons estate. Koch pledged $100 million more to C-4 and Super PAC efforts for Romney [in exchange] for Ryan’s selection.” National Memo
I understand that one has to take what Mr. Stone says with a grain of salt because he has been an insider political operative for decades, and maybe he has a grudge against Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and/or the Republican Party. One thing that is known is that the Koch Brothers have been big supporters of Paul Ryan and his attacks on the middle class and the poor. “The vice presidential nominee’s campaign finance record is not without some minor controversy. To begin with, he has long been a favorite of the libertarian billionaires Charles and David Koch. Before entering Congress, Ryan worked with a conservative group that would eventually merge with a Koch brothers’ group to become FreedomWorks, a leading sponsor of the Tea Party movement. Their mutual interests in libertarianism could explain why the private energy corporation Koch Industries has given Ryan more than $65,000 over his career” US News and World Report
One writer claims that the Romney choice of Ryan is not only because of the big money supporting Ryan as a Vice President choice, but also because of a long struggle against the gains made by the Left since the late 60’s and early 1970’s. “Paul Ryan’s selection as Mitt Romney’s running mate is the present culmination of more than two centuries of war on democracy and – in modern times – on the specific gains made through political struggle during the Roosevelt administration after the devastation caused by the Great Depression and on those specific gains for civil rights codified into law during the Great Society under Lyndon Johnson.” Truthout
The Koch Brother’s father was the founder of the John Birch Society who could be called a bigot for some of his incendiary comments against minorities. “As the progenitor of the Koch family, the elder Koch candidly and unabashedly wrote, “the colored man looms large in the Communist plan to take over America,” and “welfare was a secret plot to attract rural blacks to cities, where they would foment a vicious race war”).” Truthout Do the Koch Brothers agree with their father’s statement and is their choice of Ryan related to what they believe Ryan’s legislation and budget will do to harm minorities and women?
The Koch Brothers have funneled millions into various Super Pacs and Right Wing causes, but now if Mr. Stone and the op-ed on Truthout are to be believed, they have may have actually purchased the selection of their own Vice Presidential candidate. Is this choice a continuation of the out of control election spending that was brought on by the controversial Citizens United decision? Or is the Ryan selection a building block in the framework to attack social programs by the same moneyed interests that will benefit by the curtailing of these programs to allow for even greater tax breaks?
What do you think?
Shano (and the tax lawyers here)
Wouldn’t the Rmoneys be able to take depreciation on the future glue mine? Don’t know what he paid for the baseball covering plant or how many years they could drag out of his hoofing hoofed beast but wouldn’t he be able to deduct that amount also?
Koch, Koch, bo burk, banana fanna for furk, …
If the first two letters are ever the same,
Ya drop them both and say the name,
Like, Bob, Bob, f in or so bob or Mary Mary … etc
–The Name Game.
fyi, it takes at least 8 years of training to get a horse to the Olympic level in dressage. So, that is $77,000 x 8 for one horse
Malisha,
Give the deduction a shot! But see your CPA first!
Rafflaw, I got my grandwhippet to dance long ago. He’d dance in circles, sometimes clockwise and sometimes counterclockwise. I never thought of deducting him, though. Hmmmm. There’s so much to be ignorant of!
As long as this thread has degenerated into a discussion of tax cheats I have two relevant comments.
in 2009 the IRS discovered a bunch of Americans illegally hiding cash in Swiss banks. They decided (foolishly I believe) to tell the crooks if they paid up the IRS would not prosecute nor would they publish the names. In 2008 Willard Rmoney had no problem showing McCain several years of tax returns but now can’t show anyone his 2009 return. Why would that be?
Willard says he paid 13% in federal tax for all these years (note – did he pay that during the year it was owed or only after his Swiss acct was discovered?). But that raises 2 questions:
How low do his frigging taxes have to go before he decides to actually create jobs in the US?
I always calculate the percentage of gross income I pay each April, This past year it was a touch over 8%. But I also pay FICA and Medicare taxes because I EARN my income. That means my Federal tax burden is actually at least as high as Willards and probably higher. Why does he want to raise my rate to 25% (see his and Ryan’s proposals) while eliminating the deductions I use?
Since Rmoney gets his income from investments and he and his VP propose 0% federal taxes how is this a win for the middle class?
Thanks rcampbell.
Ralph,
Although it proved to be a more difficult process than when first announced, the IRS has now completed putting together a new group of auditors specifically targetting high net worth individuals’ returns. Naturally, auditting each of those returns is a matter of wading through a complex web of documents and often involves foreign banks and countries. But the fact is the IRS has de-emphasized going after the questionable $25 charitable deduction and is focussed on where the money is. I offer this piece from the mid-April ’12 Daily Beast
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/17
Once again Ralph, the source you cited does not mention the $1 Billion tax bill that you suggested earlier. All they say is that for two periods of time the IRS and Berkshire are discussing or negotiating what the proper taxes should be. Nothing, I repeat, nothing in the Huffington Post article suggests any cheating. The NY Post article uses faulty methodology that the Huffington Post calls them out for. Besides, as I mentioned earlier, why shouldn’t Berkshire take advantage of the same breaks that GE and Exxon Mobil take advantage of?
Yeah, the Koch brothers bought a lot, and a lot of it is classified.
For the stunods that think I make stuff up, and that I don’t know EXACTLY what I’m talking about (and, unfortunately, I can’t tell you what I REALLY KNOW about the tax scams of the ultra-wealthy for legal reasons), here is a public source about that tax-cheat, Warren Buffett.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/29/warren-buffett-taxes-berkshire-hathaway_n_941099.html
Did you know that the IRS has a Whistleblower Program? Did you know that the IRS has a backlog of leads for recovering more than $6 BILLION? Now, this is not money that the Middle Class owes, because, frankly, we don’t HAVE $6 billion. No, that is money that the ULTRA-WEALTHY and the CORPORATIONS owe. Is the IRS going after them? NO! In fact, the IRS says it has too much investigative work to do tracking down somebody who took a $25 tax deduction for a charity, but failed to reduce that amount by the fair value of the Christmas Cards that the charity gave the individual as an incentive to donate. THAT IS THE REALITY OF TAXES TODAY. Obama or Romney. Doesn’t make a dime’s worth of difference. They both work for the same interests, and it AIN’T THE MIDDLE CLASS.
Ralph,
it is rafflaw, not rufflaw. Where are you sources to show Berkshire was evading $1 Billion in taxes? Let’s see them. Until the IRS files criminal charges, there is no evasion. Just ask Mitt.
Elaine, that $77,000 tax deduction is an ANNUAL deduction. So how many years have they had the horse in training?
I am sure also, (being very familiar with tax law and race horses) that the crippled horse they tried to sell by masking defects with medication was a total write off, hundreds of thousands of dollars.
@rufflaw, Buffett is not “lawfully” not paying taxes. When I said TAX EVASION, I meant just that. He OWED the IRS more than $1 billion CASH! If you or I tried to evade even $4,000 of taxes, we would be hit with interest and penalties up the wazzoo, and liens would be put on on our bank accounts. But if you’re Warren Buffett, no problem. The IRS will look the other way.
It doesn’t matter WHO is President because the ultra-wealthy CONTROL THAT. And the control the tax system, forcing the Middle Class to ALWAYS pick up the tab. Are we getting it yet?
Elaine,
Are we counting Vet fees and food?? 🙂
Steven J.,
We all have reason to be scared.
This is very scary stuff. At this point, it seems its all about money talking the loudest. I really fear what will happen to our rank and file Americans if the Republicans win the election, especially when you consider the new idea of eliminating the capital gain tax and the outsourcing that has continued over the last few decades. Will we have people marching in the streets like in Egypt and other places.
rafflaw,
Did you pay “six figures” for Buster?
Elaine,
If I get my yellow lab, Buster to dance, can I deduct anything??? 🙂
rafflaw,
“You people” don’t get to take a $77,000 tax deduction for a dancing horse like the Romneys.
Romney Took $77,000 Tax Deduction For His Dancing Horse
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/18/1100947/-Romney-Took-77-000-Tax-Deduction-For-His-Dancing-Horse
Romney Horse Wins Spot on Olympic Dressage Team
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/us/politics/horse-co-owned-by-ann-romney-earns-a-spot-on-the-olympic-dressage-team.html?_r=3&smid=tw-nytimespolitics&seid=auto
Excerpt:
As the wife of the presumed Republican presidential nominee, Mrs. Romney, through her involvement as a deep-pocketed patron, has brought dressage more attention than it has ever received in the United States, despite celebrating its 100th year in the Olympics. The comedian Stephen Colbert was the latest to focus on it, with a skit on his Comedy Central show last week that ribbed the sport’s fussy, elitist image.
“Folks,” Mr. Colbert said, “the image of Romney as a privileged princeling ends today, because now Mitt is just your average blue-collar fan of dressage.”
To show it can take a joke, the United States Equestrian Federation distributed 500 foam No. 1 fingers here, a cheeky reference to a prop Mr. Colbert used in his skit as he clutched a beer bottle in his other hand and cheered, “Woo!”
The equestrian federation even recorded spectators waggling the red foam fingers for a YouTube video it planned to offer as a “rebuttal” to Mr. Colbert. Mrs. Romney, too, put one on.
“I think having someone like Mrs. Romney so interested in horses is certainly helpful for our sport, and we’re all very happy,” Mr. Ebeling said. “Bring it on.”
But as Mr. Colbert’s satire suggested, the scrutiny may not be entirely a blessing for Mr. Romney’s image as a man in touch with the concerns of average Americans. As millions tune in to the Olympics in prime time this summer, just before Mr. Romney will be reintroducing himself to the nation at the Republican convention, viewers are likely to see “up close and personal” segments on NBC about the Romneys and dressage, a sport of six-figure horses and $1,000 saddles. The Romneys declared a loss of $77,000 on their 2010 tax returns for the share in the care and feeding of Rafalca, which Mrs. Romney owns with Mr. Ebeling’s wife, Amy, and a family friend, Beth Meyers.