Dennis RomeroIt was only a matter of time before Southern California Democrats descended on Mitt Romney's beach home in La Jolla: It's so close and yet so close.
An L.A. labor coalition is planning a protest there Saturday to make light of a 1968 sand drawing of a heart he made for his future wife on a beach in France. It said “I LOVE ANN.”
The organizers, part of Good Jobs LA, told the Weekly the modern remix will say …
“I LOVE TAX DODGING.”
The labor folks are complaining that Romney has paid only about a 14 or 15 percent tax rates for the most recent years records are available and surmise he might have paid even less previously because he won't reveal the documentation.
(Romney's camp has said over the most-recent 20-year period he paid about a 20 percent effective federal tax rate).
In any case, Good Jobs LA says the guy who could be worth a quarter-billion dollars or more pays less …
The view from Romney's beach house.; Credit: zillow.com
… than the tax rate paid most working families. Tax rates paid by Romney in previous years are speculated to be even lower but remain unknown due to the candidate's failure to disclose his tax returns.
That's because he doesn't get a paycheck like most of the rest of us: Rather, Romney's income came from various investments that are taxed at about a 15 percent rate. (Plus, he is alleged to have taken advantage of loopholes and offshore stashes).
Labor folks also believe Romney will give tax cuts to the ultra-rich and raise taxes for the middle class. That remains to be seen.
They plan to make a show of it in La Jolla from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow.
Among the activities: A 10-foot Mitt Romney “puppet” will be erected, there will be signs and banners displayed, and a “tax bill” asking the Republican candidate to pay his fair share of taxes will be posted on his beach wall, organizers say.
[Updated at 8:48 p.m. Saturday]: Good Jobs LA pointed us to photos of the action it posted on Facebook. Here are a few:
Credit: Good Jobs LA
Credit: Good Jobs LA
Credit: Good Jobs LA
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.