LETTER: Sizing up Gianforte's taxes

The probable Republican candidate for Montana governor, Greg Gianforte, published his taxes in an effort to be transparent. I commend him for that.

His 10-year income of $220 million and taxes of $35 million means his tax rate was about 16 percent. Also, Mr. Gianforte said that he was for a bill that Gov. Bullock vetoed that would have lowered his taxes even more, while raising taxes on the lowest brackets.

By comparison, when I worked on the railroad for 36 years, withholdings reduced my paychecks by about 45 percent. By withholdings, I include payroll taxes, the tax that all earners pay on the first 120K of earnings. For someone on minimum wage it is on 100 percent of earnings, for someone earning $2 million, it is on 6 percent of their income. I often had a refund that would reduce withholdings by 5 percent for a total tax bite of 40 percent — almost two and a half  times the rate paid by a multi-millionaire.

Unfair taxation like this, not “food stamps,” is what has created our $18 trillion national debt. Mr. Gianforte talks about creating “good paying” jobs. In the name of transparency he should publish what the jobs he created actually paid. How many were minimum wage? How many were 40K? How many were over 75K? The main reason people like Mr. Gianforte come to Montana to do business is because of our low taxes and low wages. —Tom Shaughnessy, Kalispell