If Mitt Romney was in Guyana, his 13.9% tax rate would have been lower

Introduction

If Governor Mitt Romney, a leading candidate for the Republican nomination in the US 2012 presidential elections thought that he would neutralise the attacks by his fellow candidates by publicising his 2010 tax returns, he was wrong.

In fact, the revelation that his effective tax rate – the percentage which the tax he pays bears to his total income – is a mere 13.9%, has served to internationalise a debate