‘Legal’ doesn’t make it ‘right’

‘Legal’ doesn’t make it ‘right’

The headline read, “Romney claims he paid at least 13 percent in taxes over the last 10 years.”

I was willing to bet $10,000 that Mitt got “lawyered up” before making that statement. He still is not willing to back up his words with any sort of proof. That leads me to believe that not included in his returns were earnings from his Swiss Bank Account, his Grand Cayman Bank Account or his Bahamas Bank Account which all remain under a blanket of secrecy. Was the 13 percent he paid only on those earnings that were based in the United States? Sure, it is “legal” to avoid taxes, but most would agree, it is very unAmerican.

With Mitt’s twisting and turning on the tax issue, I have to wonder if Social Security and Medicare along with other taxes we all face was included in that 13 percent. So, what we have is avoidance on the big money stashed overseas and the possibility of minimal taxes paid to the United States. It may be legal, but it is “gaming” our system of taxation.

What Mitt was saying in those missing years was that while he appreciates all the advantages of being an American citizen, he is unwilling to help support, with his taxes, everything from our national defense to college Pell Grants, the Interstate road system, and the entire American infrastructure that has given him so much.

Yes, it is legal if you can afford the lawyers and tax accountants to find the loopholes, but that does not make it right.

Ken Drombosky, Boardman