Originally posted by Joaquin Guerra at Change Nation.

With less than a week to go before the Florida Republican Presidential Primary, the race is heating up and so is the issue of taxes.  Specifically, Mitt Romney’s taxes.

After taking a beating from his opponents for refusing to release his previous years’ tax returns, former Governor Romney admitted on Fox News Sunday that his campaign made a “mistake in holding off as long as we did.”  On Monday, he released his 2010 tax return and an estimate for 2011.  So how much did he make? Let’s just say he isn’t hurtin’.

In 2010, Romney made $21.7 million, is estimating $20.9 million for 2011 and will pay no income taxes on any of it.  That’s because the money he earned was based on dividends or interest from investments, which is taxed at a lower rate than income from working.  “None came from wages,” as the Washington Post, reported which is “the primary source of income for most Americans. Instead, Romney and his wife, Ann, collected millions in capital gains from a profusion of investments, as well as stock dividends and interest payments.”

Indeed, not all tax rates are equal or equitable and therein lies one of the most profound differences between the 99% and the 1%.  The 99% work at a job for our money and pay taxes based on a sliding scale up to 35% on wages earned, while the 1% let their money work for them and enjoy a 15% tax rate on their investment income.

It’s the reason why President Obama urged Congress to pass the Buffett Rule during his State of the Union and also why the billionaire, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates called for raising taxes on the rich, saying “That’s just justice.”