The real 47 percent: GOP candidate with a Ferrari pays no federal income taxes for third year

Eric W. Dolan
20 Oct 2014 at 14:50 ET                  
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A wealthy Republican candidate who owns a vintage Ferrari and a fighter jet effectively paid no federal income tax for the third year in a row.
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Investor Thomas C. Foley hopes to defeat Connecticut's Democratic governor, Dannel P. Malloy, in the upcoming Nov. 4 election. His campaign released summaries of the candidate's 2013 federal income tax returns to reporters on Friday, and both the New York Times and the Hartford Courant noted his total federal tax liability was just $673.
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"The campaign released his 2010, 2011 and 2012 tax summaries last month; 2013 was the third year in a row that Mr. Foley effectively paid no federal income tax," the Times reported.
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Foley spent $11 million of his own money seeking to become governor of Connecticut in 2010, and the Malloy campaign has been eager to point out Foley's lavish lifestyle.
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"Tom Foley owns a multi-million dollar mansion, two British fighter jets, and a $5-million-dollar yacht, yet takes advantage of tax loopholes middle-class families can only dream about, allowing him to pay no income taxes for three years," Mark Bergman, senior advisor for Malloy's campaign, told Greenwich Time. "Tom Foley lives in a different world than most Connecticut working and middle-class families."
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Republicans have complained that many Americans do not pay federal income taxes, yet benefit from welfare programs.
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In 2012, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney complained that 47 percent of Americans paid no federal income taxes and were "dependent on the government."
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More recently, Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez said the 47 percent of Americans who paid no federal income taxes were "perfectly happy that somebody else is paying the bill, and most of that half is you all."
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