FactCheck.org: Romney was wrong that 47% of Americans are dependent on government

[pampango]

Mitt Romney was wrong when he said the 47 percent of Americans who pay no federal income taxes are “dependent on the government.” Most of them are working people who simply do not earn very much money.

Romney also assumed that all of those in the 47 percent who pay no federal income tax vote Democratic. But polling data suggest that’s just not true. President Obama is faring better than Romney among the lowest earners — those most likely to be among the 47 percent who pay no federal income tax — but polls show Romney is supported by some 40 percent of those earning the lowest income. In fact, a healthy chunk of the 47 percent are seniors who tend to vote Republican.

But that doesn’t mean those folks paid no taxes at all. Many of them paid payroll taxes, those taxes taken out of a paycheck by an employer to fund programs such as Social Security and Medicare. They also pay federal excise taxes, such as those on gasoline, and they may also pay state and local income taxes or property taxes.

A map put out by the Tax Foundation of the 10 states with the highest and lowest percentage of filers with no federal tax liability shows that the states with the highest percentage of non-filers are, by-and-large, states that typically vote Republican, while the 10 states with the lowest percentage of non-filers tend to be Democratic-leaning.

http://factcheck.org/2012/09/dependency-and-romneys-47-percenters/

I know "We don't need no stinking fact-checkers".

It is maddening that romney polls at 40% among people with low incomes, but it shows that his contention that those folks automatically will vote for the president is patently false - unfortunately.

I wonder what romney's response would be to the fact that states with the highest percentage of people not paying income taxes tend to go republican, while those states with the highest percentage of tax payers tend to be Democratic. I know. I know. That's a fact and, as such, is irrelevant to his campaign.

[BumRushDaShow]

1. "We don't need no stinking fact-checkers".

And that will be there mantra from now until kingdom come.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Yep,got to make my trailer payment,

and go down to the courthouse and git my food stamps. Willard you are a idiot.

[Lochloosa]

3. Here's the breakdown of the 46.4% (not 47%) for anyones use:

According to the Tax Policy Center, about half of those who owe no federal income tax are people whose incomes are so low that when standard income tax provisions — personal exemptions for taxpayers and dependents and the standard deduction — are factored in, that simply leaves no income to be taxed. Those are people who earned less than about $27,000.

But that doesn’t mean those folks paid no taxes at all. Many of them paid payroll taxes, those taxes taken out of a paycheck by an employer to fund programs such as Social Security and Medicare. They also pay federal excise taxes, such as those on gasoline, and they may also pay state and local income taxes or property taxes.

So that’s half of Romney’s 46.4 percenters. The rest pay no federal income tax due to tax benefits and credits. Here’s the rest of the breakdown:

■22 percent receive senior tax benefits — the extra standard deduction for seniors, the exclusion of a portion of Social Security benefits, and the credit for seniors. Most of them are older people on Social Security whose adjusted gross income is less than $25,000.
■15.2 percent receive tax credits for children and the working poor. That includes the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit. The child tax credit was enacted under Democratic President Bill Clinton, but it doubled under Republican President George W. Bush. The earned income tax credit was enacted under Republican President Gerald Ford, and was expanded under presidents of both parties. Republican President Ronald Reagan once praised it as “one of the best antipoverty programs this country’s ever seen.” As a result of various tax expenditures, about two thirds of households with children making between $40,000 and $50,000 owed no federal income taxes.
■The rest ended up owing no federal income tax due to various tax expenditures such as education credits, itemized deductions or reduced rates on capital gains and dividends. Most of this group are in the middle to upper income brackets. In fact, the TPC estimates there are about 7,000 families and individuals who earn $1 million a year or more and still pay no federal income tax.