In Major Gaffe Paul Ryan Says He Wants to Eliminate Romney’s Tax Shelters

Last updated on August 14th, 2012 at 11:12 am

Paul Ryan welcomed himself to the Romney campaign by claiming on 60 Minutes that he wants to eliminate the same kind of tax shelters where Mitt Romney hides his money.

Here’s the video:

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Transcript from 60 Minutes:

Bob Schieffer: You say of course the wealthiest people pay the larger share, but don’t they also pay at a lower rate? When you figure in capital gains and all of that?

Mitt Romney: Well, it depends on the individual, what their source of income is. But if you look at the top one percent or five percent or quartile, whatever, they pay the largest share of taxes. And that’s not something which I would propose making smaller.

Paul Ryan: What we’re saying is take away the tax shelters that are uniquely enjoyed by people in the top tax brackets so they can’t shelter as much money from taxation, should lower tax rates for everybody to make America more competitive.

Welcome to the Romney campaign, Paul Ryan. You just proposed eliminating Mitt Romney’s tax shelters.

Mitt Romney has his money scattered all over the world, so that he can avoid paying taxes. Do you really think for one second that if elected Romney, a man who lives to financially enrich himself, is actually going to get rid of the tax shelters that keep his tax burden so low?

The answer to that is an emphatic no.

Here is a “treasure map” of where Romney keeps his money:

Romney also claimed in the interview that he would not make the tax burden lower for the wealthy, but that is exactly what his tax plan does. Romney’s tax plan would cut taxes for those in the top bracket by 7%. Romney plans to make up the revenue lost from cutting the tax rate by eliminating deductions used by the middle class and poor. Romney’s tax plan would lead to a net increase in income for the top 5%, and a tax increase for the other 95%.

Romney and Ryan are hoping that voters take their word for it, and don’t bother looking at the numbers. Ryan has used the line about tax shelters all of the time, but Romney has never made the claim that he would eliminate tax shelters a part of his campaign. (Romney made have said it, because he will say anything any audience wants to hear, but he has never made the idea a part of his campaign.)

Mitt Romney has never said that corporations and the wealthy should pay more taxes, and he never will. What Ryan suggested would cause people like Mitt Romney to pay more taxes.

Welcome to the Romney campaign, Paul Ryan. It looks like you’ll fit right in with the truth challenged and gaffe riddled team Romney.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association