Obama's Tax Rate Was 18%

Evil Mitt Romney paid an effective tax rate of 13% when his returns were released during the 2012 campaign.  Now, Barack Obama’s returns were released yesterday, and he paid an effective tax rate of 18%.  So, how is it that Barack Obama is more fair, more mainstream, and more American – in the eyes of his liberal base – because he pays 5% more in taxes?  Paying 18% is less than the effective tax rate of39% he wants for the job creating and investing class in this country, and 12 % shy of the Buffet Rule he adores.  A rule that would only raise $50 billion over the next ten years, which is next to insignificant concerning paying down our deficit.  In all, the Wall Street Journal reported that:

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama paid $112,214 in federal income taxes in 2012 on adjusted gross income of $608,611, an effective rate of 18.4%, the White House said Friday.

The first family’s income declined from the $789,674 in adjusted gross income they reported in 2011. That year they paid total federal taxes of $162,074, an effective rate of 20.5%. Their 2012 income continues a steep decline from 2010 when they reported $1.7 million in adjusted gross income, the bulk of which was royalties from sales from books written by Mr. Obama.

As in recent years, the Obamas made significant contributions to charity. In 2012, they gave $150,034—or about 24.6% of their adjusted gross income—to 33 different charities. The largest reported gift to charity was $103,871 to the Fisher House Foundation, a group that provides free housing to family members of injured military veterans.

That’s great the First Family gives to charity, but so does Mitt Romney – and at a much larger rate.  By liberal standards, Obama isn’t paying his fair share in taxes, but he isn’t Mitt Romney, so he can pay less than what he’s been proposing for the past four years. That’s probably going to be the narrative liberals adopt for counter-spin, along with their allies in the media.