{"id":32826,"date":"2012-09-26T00:02:31","date_gmt":"2012-09-26T05:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?p=32826"},"modified":"2012-09-23T18:47:24","modified_gmt":"2012-09-23T23:47:24","slug":"tax-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/09\/26\/tax-returns\/","title":{"rendered":"Tax Returns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019m sitting here musing on what would happen to church giving \u2014 and charities in general \u2014 if everyone had to make their tax returns public? Here\u2019s a few paragraphs from the CNN Money news story:<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s between you and God,\u201d you might say. I don\u2019t blame you for saying that. Romney\u2019s and Obama\u2019s are not. And many were urging to see Romney\u2019s \u2014 for criticism fodder.<\/p>\n

But the real question for Christians is this: What happens inside you when this question is asked? \u201cWhat would happen to your giving if your taxes became public?\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) \u2014 Mitt Romney made $13.7 million last year and paid $1.94 million in federal income taxes, giving him an effective tax rate of 14.1%, his campaign said Friday.<\/p>\n

His effective tax rate was up slightly from the 13.9% rate\u00a0<\/a>he paid in\u00a02010<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The majority of the candidate\u2019s income came from his investments\u2026.<\/p>\n

Romney took $4.7 million in itemized deductions and $102,790 in foreign tax credits, which likely represents taxes paid on foreign investments to other sovereign governments.<\/p>\n

Romney and his wife, Ann, gave just over $4 million to charity, the campaign said. The amount includes more than $1 million in cash to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and more than $200,000 to the Tyler Foundation, which serves families of children undergoing treatment for epilepsy. They also reported more than $900,000 in noncash contributions.<\/p>\n

But the couple chose to deduct only $2.25 million of their charitable contributions. The reason was \u201cto conform\u201d to Romney\u2019s\u00a0statement last month<\/a>\u00a0that he never paid less than 13% in income taxes over the past 10 years, Brad Malt, a lawyer who presides over the Romneys\u2019 blind trust, said in a statement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m sitting here musing on what would happen to church giving \u2014 and charities in general \u2014 if everyone had to make their tax returns public? Here\u2019s a few paragraphs from the CNN Money news story: \u201cIt\u2019s between you and God,\u201d you might say. I don\u2019t blame you for saying that. Romney\u2019s and Obama\u2019s are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTax Returns<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm sitting here musing on what would happen to church giving -- and charities in general -- if everyone had to make their tax returns public? 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