Mitt Romney?s rivals pounce on GOP prez candidate?s acknowledgement his tax rate is around 15%

Mitt Romney has yet to release his tax returns, but he's already brewing up a storm after acknowledging his tax rate is "probably" around 15%.

The Republican presidential candidate's rivals pounced on his remarks, using it as evidence that the multimillionaire is out of touch with ordinary Americans.

"We ought to rename our flat tax," opponent Newt Gingrich said during a campaign stop in Columbia, S.C. on Tuesday. "We have a 15% flat tax. So this would be the Mitt Romney flat tax... All Americans could then pay the rate Romney paid. I think that's terrific."

Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Rick Perry called again for Romney to release all of his records, telling CNN Americans want to see "if he's as good a businessman as he says he is."

And former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said Romney's rate was less than he paid.

"I have to go back and look. I do my own taxes but I haven't looked at them in quite a while, thank God," he said in Lexington. "I don't know what my effective rate of tax is, but I'm fairly confident it's a lot higher than 15%."

Facing mounting pressure from the other candidates during Monday night's GOP debate in South Carolina, Romney hedged and said he'd "probably" release his taxes in April, by which time the Republican nomination may very well be all but sewn up.

The former Massachusetts governor then acknowledged during a pit stop in the Palmetto State that his effective tax rate is "probably closer to the 15% rate than anything," and characterized the $374,327 he made in speaking fees as "not very much."

If Romney does make the information public, the money he made as head of investment firm Bain Capital will likely come under intense scrutiny.

Romney hasn't drawn a real salary in years, and most analysts believe the bulk of his income comes from investment gains. Because capital gains are taxed at a much lower rate ? 15% ? than the levy on the salaries of the wealthiest Americans ? 35% ? Romney likely has a very high annual income paired with a relatively low tax rate.

The Obama Administration also jumped on the 15% bandwagon, using Romney's rate to highlight income inequality ? a key issue in the upcoming election.

"This only illuminates what he believes is an issue, which is that everybody who's working hard ought to pay their fair share," he said. "And that includes millionaires who might be paying an effective tax rate of 15% when folks making $50,000 or $75,000 or $100,000 a year are paying much more."

While presidential candidates are not required to release their taxes, most usually volunteer the information. Gingrich says he'll release his on Thursday, when President Obama does.

Obama paid a federal tax rate of about 26% on his 2010 returns, the most recent available.

But will Romney's tax admission matter in terms of the GOP nomination?

Not necessarily, according to recent polls.

A new CBS/New York Times poll shows Romney with a sizable lead among GOP primary voters. He comes in with 28%, followed by Gingrich's 21% and Santorum's 16%.

With News Wire Services

Source: http://feeds.nydailynews.com/~r/nydnrss/gossip/rush_molloy/~3/GbllmFeYluo/mitt-romney-rivals-pounce-gop-prez-candidate-acknowledgement-tax-rate-15-article-1.1008012

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