Mitt Romney garnered criticism today from his fellow Republican candidates for president after he was videotaped telling a crowd that his effective tax rate is less than the average American’s.
Romney’s tax rate is “probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything,” the former Massachusetts governor told a crowd after the presidential debate in South Carolina on Tuesday. “Because my last 10 years, I’ve, uh, my income comes overwhelmingly from investments made in the past.”
On average, only couples who earned less than $68,000 had a 15 percent tax rate in 2010, according to taxfoundation.org. President Barack Obama pays a tax rate of 26 percent on his income.
In 2010 alone, however, the Republican candidate made $374,327.62 in speaker’s fees, according to a Public Financial Disclosure report he filed in 2011. Speaking on Tuesday, he called the revenue that he makes from speeches and appearances “not very much.”
Newt Gingrich told reporters Wednesday that he pays about a 31 percent rate, according to the Associated Press, and challenged Romney to release his returns immediately.
Romney said on Tuesday he plans to release his tax returns sometime in April, the AP reported.
Most opinion polls show Romney with a significant lead over Gingrich in the next Republican primary in South Carolina.
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