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Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at the Christ Central Community Center in Winnsboro, S.C. on Wednesday.
WINNSBORO, SC -- Newt Gingrich said Wednesday he paid 31 percent of his income in taxes in 2010.
While continuing across the Palmetto State on his bus tour, the former House speaker told reporters he hopes to release his 2012 tax returns tomorrow, which he said he had been told would reflect the fact that he paid nearly a third of his income to the federal government.
Gingrich's statement comes amid efforts by Mitt Romney to parry attacks by his rivals in Saturday's South Carolina primary after Romney had estimated his effective tax burden at about 15 percent over the past year.
It's part of a broader effort by Gingrich and fellow GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, to put pressure on Romney to release his tax returns immediately. The former Massachusetts governor has been reluctant to release his tax records, but has suggested he might make public his most recent returns in April should he have secured the nomination by then.
In the meanwhile, Gingrich has used Romney's words yesterday to needle the frontrunner in the South Carolina primary, a contest which Gingrich has transformed into somewhat of a last stand for conservatives looking to halt Romney's march to the GOP nomination.
“We are going to name our flat tax the Mitt Romney 15 percent flat tax,” Gingrich told the roughly 150-person crowd today. "My goal is not to raise Mitt Romney's taxes, but to let everyone pay Romney's rate."
This back-and-forth between Gingrich and Romney is just one of a number of heated topics between the two campaigns. Gingrich has been especially eager, too, to highlight Romney's private sector record at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he helped found and which led to most of his wealth.
Gingrich seems to be gaining momentum in South Carolina with just three days until the state primary and the Romney campaign is taking the threat to sealing up a sweep of the early nominating states seriously.
In response to the former speaker's push, Team Romney has begun responding, labeling the former Speaker as an “unreliable leader," and holding a press conference call with campaign advisers, creating a new website, and releasing a new web ad.
“I mean where do they get the gall to run these kinds of an ad?” Gingrich told reporters after being informed of the new Romney campaign ad that says he helped re-elect a Democrat. “Maybe they’re bored. Maybe they have excess money. Maybe they want to throw the kitchen sink.”
The speaker is staking his campaign on the primary Jan. 21 and wants conservatives to rally around him as he believes he is the only candidate who can beat Romney.
“I am trying to get every conservative voter in this state to decide, while they may like somebody else, that historically we need to get the vote for Gingrich,” the Speaker said, noting that it would be “helpful” if either Perry or former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum dropped out of the race.
South Carolina voters will cast their ballots Saturday.
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Gingrinch passes the paid enough taxes criteria. The guy might have something going if it weren't for his sordid past. And the guy has changed wives to one that's prettier than his first one who he said wasn't pretty enough to be first lady. He might have it all together.
The Obama's paid 26%, Newt should hire their tax lawyers...
Yes but Obama claimed depreciation on the White House
Slick Willard is the perfect Republican representative.
I think we should all listen to Romney when he says that corporations are people.
I know of quite a few companies that should be arrested, locked up and executed.
Thirty-one percent, eh? I rather doubt it. Good one, though, trying to endear yourself to the--what--ninety-nine percenters? Whatever tax records he releases to the public for scrutiny has to be fraudulent. How are we going to verify that the records are authentic, anyway? People who make what he made last year, disregarding any tax loopholes or shelters such as the "Newt Foundation for the Blind" (just kidding--there is no foundation by that name, as far as I know ) are NOT taxed at 31%. Give it a rest, Newt, and just try to campaign on your positive attributes and contributions. I'll quit right here.
I'm not even a Romney fan, but this Gingrich guy makes me think Romney's not so bad. 31%, really??? I don't believe it. Besides, what's wrong with paying 15% on Capital Gains and 30% on income?
Bonehead should know better. Romney makes all his money off investment income which is taxed at the 15% rate. When he originally earned that money, it was taxed as ordinary income, about a third. This is Uncle Sam's second bite at the same money and it, therefore, is taxed at a lower rate.
Yea if Newt if paying 31% effective tax rate that would mean he is earning income! But from where? Oh yea from the 1.6 Million he made from consulting fees to Freddie Mac. So while millions of people were loosing their house, loosing their jobs, loosing everything they had and finding themselves applying for FOOD STAMPS Newt was making 1.6 MILLION dollars from a federal program that was suppose to be helping people get into and keep their house. How ironic. Now he wants to point fingers?
The reason Mitt is paying so little is because most of his money comes from CAPITAL GAINS as oppose to earned income. And guess what Newt's plan is for tax on capital gains? Set it to ZERO. That would mean that people like Mitt would pay ZERO on a majority of his income. Neither Newt nor Mitt are JOB CREATORS.
Newt paid 31% any body who believes that would also believed he reported every dime he made.There really is a sucker born every minute most of them belong to the republican party.just because the capital gains tax is 15% don't make it fair it just means a bought government set it that low
Based on Newt's Morals,Life stlye and choices and many years as GOP politician, I would not doubt that any amount he would give would be a fantasy and nowhere near an honest number.he may have paid taxes of 31% of what he declared . not even the make believe Fairy would believe Newt. His honesty and integrity is at rock bottom.
The idea of anyone in that income bracket paying less than 65% is obscene. It's about time we raised the marginal tax rate on ALL forms of income, not just earned income, and graduated it similar to the 1950's, but I would suggest we go a little further and institute a 110% tax rate on huge amounts (say over $100M p.a.), just as a means of levelling the playing field. We're all seeing the corrosive effects of too much accumulated wealth in a few hands, and it's time to reverse course.
Romney has already talked to the latest New Jersey Blimp.In case you didn't know it New Jersey was the home of the Navy Blimps when they were in stlye. Christie has already said he would consider the VP job. That would be another nail in Romneys coffin. What American would vote for a Vice president that health wise has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.
So, does the Newt want a medal or something?
Besides, that $3.50 a gallon for gas didn't bite him as much as it did for those fools who are going to vote for him.
Keep going Newt. America needs more of it. What ever that is.
If the minimum wage had increased by the same percentage as executive compensation since 1980, the minimum wage would be over $23.00 an hour.
Yeah he did, and I had sex with Fiona Apple.............I didn't though.
IT IS APPARENT ; the republican conservative christian tea partiers , '' are racist '', looking for more open places to vent their frustration of a BLACK MAN , BEING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. no matter what they do , win or lose , it's moments like this that they will cherish. being able to come on national media outlets , and blame black people for food stamps. blame black people for the entitlement program. blame black people for being lazy. blame black people for being convicts who shouldn't vote. blame black people for not wanting their babies to clean the toilets at the public schools they attend. blame black people for being the poor in america. blame black people for being the most uneducated people in america. blame black people for not being as filthy rich as gingrinch, romney, limbaugh , and a host of successful multi-billionaires , whom many inherited land and riches , stolen from freed slaves. WHY DOESN'T WHITE AMERICA, JUST PAY ALL THE BLACKS FROM AMERICA, THE MONIES FOR 300 YEARS WORKING FOR FREE IN THIS COUNTRY ???? IF THEY REALLY CARE FOR THE PLIGHT OF BLACK AMERICANS, ISN'T THIS THE RIGHT THING TO DO ???? NEWTS FAMILY , ROMNEY'S FAMILY , ALL THESE WEALTHY WHITE FAMILIES , LIVED AND ROAMED AMERICA FREELY. FREE TO GET A GOOD EDUCATION , FREE TO MAKE A REASONABLE LIVING, FREE TO GET PAID FOR THEIR LABOR , FREE TO BUY HOMES AND PROPERTIES , FREE TO PURSUE THEIR HAPPINESS. WHILE THE BLACKS, AND THEIR CHILDREN, WERE ONLY FREE TO KISS THEIR BUTTS , AND WORK FROM SUN UP TO SUN DOWN , '' FOR FREE ''. now , after a whole 40 years of being able to go to the same school with the blessed whites , and eat at the same eateries, with the blessed whites , they believe we should own booo-kooo realistate , and be filthy rich like them by now. LET'S CUT TO THE CHASE , LET'S JUST PAY REPARATIONS FOR SLAVERY OF OUR ANCESTORS , AND THEIR CHILDREN . AND VIOLA , THERE WILL BE NO MORE BLACKS NEEDING YOUR FOOD STAMPS OR YOUR ENTITLEMENTS. WON'T THAT MAKE REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE TEA PARTY '' CHRISTIANS '' HAPPY ??????????
Maybe Newt did pay 31% of his income in taxes.
He still needs to pay 31% OF HIS HAIR.
So we can vet his skull properly.
Gingrich has enough money. He should be paying 75% taxes. America needs your help Gingrich. Step up to the plate and hit a home run for Ameria
Is this supposed to make him a hero? I paid the same percentage last year and I only made 46K. I'm pretty sure he made a bit more than that. This guy is scum and his only agenda is to help his fellow scum rape and pillage the working class.
Why does a single guy or gal pay MORE taxes than a married couple?
N(ew)t: "I paid 31% of my taxes last year."
Translation: "I still owe the other 64% and have no intention of paying it."
Nightline."
Marianne Gingrich, the former Speaker's second wife, of 18 years, hasn't been shy about her feelings toward her ex-husband's presidential ambitions, telling Esquire in 2010 that there's "no way."
"He could have been president," she said. "But when you try and change your history too much, and try and recolor it because you don't like the way it was or you want it to be different to prove something new ... you lose touch with who you really are. You lose your way."
"He believes that what he says in public and how he lives don't have to be connected," Gingrich added, in the Esquire interview. "If you believe that, then yeah, you can run for president."
In the Esquire interview, Marianne also dismisses the conversion to Catholicism during his current, and third, marriage. She said it "has no meaning."
It's unclear who leaked the story to Drudge -- perhaps an ABC staffer who didn't want the interview to possibly get held until next week or rival campaign operative hoping to get Gingrich's baggage front-and-center on the influential conservative aggregator. Whoever the source, they got the political tongues wagging just 72 hours before the primary.
Gingrich's two daughters from his first marriage pushed back Wednesday, writing in a letter to the network's leadership that "ABC News or other campaigns may want to talk about the past, just days before an important primary election [but] Newt is going to talk to the people of South Carolina about the future."
Was that before or after all the creative write-offs? What a buffoon!