How Do the Rich Pay No Taxes?

policyshop.net — Harry Reid's unsubstantiated charge that Mitt Romney paid no taxes for a decade is a reminder of why so many Americans are turned off by politics. The Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate should not be trafficking in hearsay; if he has an evidence-based attack to make on Romney, he should start with the evidence -- if there is any. On its face, Reid's claim seems absurd: No politician as ambitious and calculating as Romney would pay zero taxes. Even if that were possible under law, Romney surely would have found a way to pay something. That said, Reid is putting an important issue on the table: the fairness of a tax system in which many wealthy Americans often pay low or even no taxes. This problem is big and may be getting bigger, thanks to various loopholes and more sophisticated use of those loopholes.

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