Parsing Romney's latest tax claim...

[morningfog]

“I did go back and look at my taxes, and over the past 10 years I never paid less than 13 percent. I think the most recent year is 13.6 or something like that. So I paid taxes every single year,”

And:

A Romney spokesman confirmed that in saying he paid a rate of at least 13 percent in each of the past 10 years Romney was referring only to his federal income taxes and not personal property or sales taxes.

Could he have, for any year shown "no income" due to losses, carry-overs ans other tax schemes?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

1. Is the sum of money accepted as exempt by the IRS under a tax amnesty considered income

at all or is it classified as income for which taxes are waived? Is the sum recorded by the accountant on a line on the return for income or are special forms involved such that it never appears on the return's front page? Anyone ever see a tax return filed in a year where a tax amnesty was enjoyed?

[Igel]

2. No, he couldn't have had no income.

He's not talking marginal rates or the rates printed in a IRS instructions booklet or tax table.

13.9%? 13.6? No, we're talking (income taxes) / (adjusted income).

Personally, if an investor claims $0 income for a year because of losses that doesn't bother me. It means any profit he made was gobbled up by losses.