[laconic]

His tax rate is so low becuase he gave so much to charity. Contrast the Dems who talk big about giving away other people’s money and give so little of it out of their own pockets.

[zencycler]

EXACTLY RIGHT - (re charity) and this is Mitt's proverbial "Ace in the hole" which he and will use to his benefit at the most strategic time - probably when he gets confronted about this low rate during the first debate.

The most fair comparison is to calculate and adjusted rate Tax Paid divided by (AGI - Charitable Deductions). This, I'm sure, would result in a rate that would not only result in a much more favorable comparisons to others, but would also be a way for Romney to draw attention to his generous charitable giving without sounding like he was bragging about this.

[A.A. Cunningham]

His tax rate is so low becuase(sic) he gave so much to charity.

Only in part. Romney derives most of his income from dividends and capital gains - just like Warren Buffet - which are taxed at a much lower rate than regular income - a weekly paycheck - which is the way it should be. One could argue that dividends and capital gains shouldn't be taxed at all since the original capital was already taxed.