Fact Checking Obama’s ‘Fair Share’ Ad
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A new television ad for President Barack Obama blasts Republican challenger Mitt Romney for his secretly recorded “47 percent” comments and points out that Romney didn’t mention all of the other taxes that Americans pay, even if they’re not paying federal income tax.
But the ad, entitled “Fair Share,” does the same thing to Mitt Romney. (Read More: Romney Derides Obama Supporters in Damaging Video.)
The ad, which was released Tuesday and is airing in seven closely contested states, is the second ad the Obama camp has released using Romney’s 47 percent comments against him.
In it, an announcer says Romney “dismissed 47 percent of Americans for not pulling their weight, he attacked millions of hard working people making 25, 35, 45 thousand dollars a year. They pay Social Security taxes, state taxes, local taxes, gas sales and property taxes.” (Read More: Where the 47% Live.)
The criticism from the Obama camp suggests Romney’s comments aren’t fair because he ignores all the other taxes that people pay other than federal income taxes.
But the ad’s narrator goes on to say this: “Romney paid just 14 percent in taxes last year on over $13 million in income, almost all from investments.” (Read More: Romney Paid About 14% in Taxes in 2011: Campaign.)
That statement ignores the other taxes that Romney paid, just as the ad accuses Romney of ignoring the other taxes Americans pay.
According to tax information Romney has released, he paid more than $1.3 million in state and local income taxes in 2011, as well as real estate taxes of more than $214,000.
We brought this discrepancy to the attention of the Obama campaign, which declined to comment on the record.
—By CNBC's Eamon Javers
@EamonJavers
