Romney the giver

[Draggingtree]

New York Post:

 

Romney the giver

 

The big news from tax returns

• By JOHN PODHORETZ
  
• Last Updated: 12:35 AM, September 22, 2012
  
• Posted: 11:23 PM, September 21, 2012
  

We learned yesterday that last year Mitt Romney paid $1.9 million in taxes on an income of $14 million — and gave $4 million to charity.

The year before, he made $21.6 million, paid $3 million in taxes and gave $3 million to charity.

So, to recap: Mitt Romney has, in the past two years, paid almost $5 million in taxes while giving away $7 million. And, as he said, he has paid the taxes he was supposed to pay according to the laws of the United States, which is all that is required — legally, morally and practically — of anyone.

But the release of these tax records leaves no doubt about one thing: Mitt Romney is an extraordinarily, remarkably, astonishingly generous man. A good man. Maybe even a great man.

That is all. There is no “but.” Anyone who says otherwise is ignorant, stupid or a liar.

It’s important to talk about how charitable deductions work, because there is great confusion about them and their effect on the amount people pay in tax as a result.

You will hear it said, by people who are either ignorant or have an