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Subscribe to RSSGOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum is riding his momentum from a trio of caucus wins to the top of the latest national polls. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.
Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum sought to draw another sharp contrast between himself and Republican rival Mitt Romney when his campaign released four years of tax returns Wednesday night.
The documents, reported by Politico, show Santorum and his wife, Karen, earned more than $3.5 million from 2007 through 2010, but paid more than one-quarter of their earnings back in taxes. The most they paid in taxes was in 2010, when they earned $923,411 and paid an effective tax rate of over 28 percent.
Romney's 2010 tax returns show the former Massachusetts governor and wife Ann earned $27 million and paid a tax rate of 13.9 percent.
"I felt very successful in making money. Also, I was very successful in paying taxes," Santorum told CNN on Wednesday. "I think our tax rates were ... between 25 percent and 28 percent. You know, I do my own taxes and maybe I didn't have all the deductions and exclusions that I could have. But I was trying to be as straightforward as I could and paying the taxes I thought I owed."
New Gingrich's 2010 tax records, however, show he paid even more than Santorum in taxes, earning $3.1 million that year and paying back 31.5 percent.
The Santorums filed an adjusted gross income of $659,637 in 2007, that rose to $945,100 in 2008, $1.1 million in 2009 and $923,411 in 2010.
'We've been very blessed'
While the candidate acknowledged his success, Santorum was quick to point out that he has two children in college, a special needs child and a home that has lost 40 percent of its value.
"I took a lot of that money and actually paid down a rather significant mortgage to the point where ... my mortgage was still below the value of my house," he said. "And that's been a bit of a hit for us. And I have two kids in college and a child with a disability and needing care, so, you know, we've had some expenses and we've been very blessed to have the opportunity to be able to handle those and still be in the black.
The release does show the former Pennsylvania senator's wealth grew since he lost his re-election bid in 2006. The latest Republican to surge in the polls has disputed the notion he has cashed in from his time on Capitol Hill.
But shortly after the information was made public, Santorum sought to use it to play up the blue-collar background he speaks about so frequently on the campaign trail.
He referred to himself as a "grunt lawyer" in a Pittsburgh law firm before getting to Congress.
Santorum took a break from stumping in Florida last month before the Sunshine State's primary to return home to ready the documents that he himself files each year, never relying on an accountant.
He also points to his re-election loss as an opportunity for him to gain private-sector experience, something Romney has critiqued Santorum for not having.
"In many respects, I have to say the people of Pennsylvania didn't always give me what I wanted, but they gave me what I needed. And in retrospect, Piers, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to get away from Washington to give me a perspective on things," he told CNN's Piers Morgan.
"It was a really great opportunity to get a whole bunch of different life experiences in the private sector and I think it's made me a better candidate coming forward here for president," Santorum added.
Four years worth of tax returns is the most any GOP presidential hopeful has released. Ron Paul now becomes the only candidate who has yet to make his returns public.
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I have little issue with Rick paying this amount of taxes. My objection to him are more on his policy positions -- especially when it comes to other peoples personal rights. 28% is about right @ his income level -- considering the deductions he has every legal right to. Yes, the top tax basic is 35% -- but clearly few who have that kind of money pay anything near that. -- case in point Mitt. The article suggested that Newt pays the very top tax rate and does not have any deductions -- hard to believe that part of the story. for those who say -- "yeah, how about the fact that almost half of all Americans pay little or any federal Income taxes -- that could technically correct -- since they do not make nearly enough income to live on these days. Can ot get bllod froma stone -- And another fact of the matter is that even these folks have to still pay other fees, rent, food bills and local taxes. The major point I want to make is that all these GOP candidates make far more money than the average American --and have no real idea what it is really like to live in this country -- No comcept ofwhat "middle class is (or ever was). They might say it in different ways or to different degrees -- but the messages is clear -- only the rich and the biggest shoumoney -- and should be awarded for that by hainng their taxes cut even more. If people and companies make al these millions and billions of dollars -- where does it really come from? From keeping the wages of the working people, not paying a living wage or not employing peole at all in this country -- but instead taking jobs over seas and profiting from that -- and also not paying taxes on the extra profit. The is the cold, hard fact!!!
I think that's the stupidest thing I've ever read. The Republican candidates don't have any concept of what middle-class is? With the exception of Romney, the rest of these people came from pretty humble roots. Even Romney didn't inherit a bunch of money from his parents, he and his wife built what they have from scratch. I think what you're saying is that you and others envy them because they were smart enough, worked hard enough, to actually make the American dream happen for them in a big way, and you weren't able or willing to do the same. Since you feel left behind, you accuse THEM of being out of touch. Pathetic.
I grew up in a very middle-class family. When I graduated from college, I had less than 50 bucks to my name. Now I'm a one percenter. Does that mean I forgot where I came from? Hardly. Where I came from taught me the values and the work ethic to get where I am today. Nobody gave me nothin'. I earned every penny of it. I didn't lie, cheat or walk over anyone to get here. Got a problem with achieving success that way? Well then, that's YOUR problem. Don't go around stereotyping people because you're basing your opinion on false assumptions. Seems to me YOU'RE out of touch.
My story is similar to yours but I started in poverty! Don't expect these others to understand the idea that success can't be acheived by taking it from someone else. It is earned (except for those born into wealth)!
I am the product of the American dream - of legal immigrants who worked hard so I could have more. Unfortunately I ended up raising my four children alone (kid's dad lives in another country so child support was measly). I worked hard and now have a more than decent living for my efforts. I never thought someone else owes me. I admire those who work hard to achieve more. I want my own success, not taking it from someone else!
Good for you! We need more with your attitude.
Santorum and Gingrich both complained that Romney is paying less taxes than they are but they are not telling the truth about this! Romney has already paid the 30plus percent on the income that he has invested and he is now paying what the tax rate is on his capital gains that he is receiving. These people are making it sound as though Romney is cheating, he is not. But they are making it sound so!! They should tell the truth or shut-up!
Quite frankly, who even gives a sh**!!
If both Mr Romney and El-Jerko Santorum, both paid the appropriate amount as mandated by the IRS, what difference does it make as to the percentage each one paid. The type of earnings determines how income is taxed!!! Too bad people are too stupid to understand that simple fact.
Leave it to sanctimonious Ricky-boy Santorum to make a point of something that is not worth making an political issue over. He really is a jacka**.
I sincerely hope Mr Romney is able to pull past El-Jerko and get the nomination. If El-Jerko gets it, I will be forced to vote to reelect President Obama just to vote AGAINST El-Jerko.
Like I said before, if Santorum paid 28% in income taxes, he's too stupid to be President. Same for Gingrich paying over 30%. Haven't they ever heard of getting a good accountant and tax lawyer? They certainly can afford them.
And what kind of Conservative is Santorum if he's bragging about paying MORE taxes as a percentage of income than Romney (even though Romney paid more in total dollars than all of them)? The idea is to have ALL of us pay less tax, regardless of income level. You never hear the Democrats suggest that, do you? They want higher tax revenues so they can blow more of our money, not reduce the tax burden on the middle-class.
We have a bloated government that's now borrowing 40 cents of every dollar they spend. If we cut out the waste, cut out the exorbitant interest payments on all that debt, that would go a long way to fixing our entitlement programs. Right now we're just being STUPID with our money. Vote the incumbents out. Anyone who has been in Washington more than 10 years has got to go. Obama too.
I don't care who is the nominee at this point. I agree a clear leader who can unite the conservatives hasn't emerged and my not. I also acknowledge the Republicans have not stuck to their fiscally conservative roots and have squandered what little trust was given to them. BUT - they had better get their act together and their message across and quick. Four more years of Obama is not sustainable.
Typical msnbc obozo - class warfare spin and the stupid folks who got suckered into the "hope and change" BS will likely believe the story. mslsd should differentiate the two incomes i.e. santorum paid on regular, salary type earnings Vs romney's "investment" earnings at the captial gains level of 13%-15%.
But folks like samuel l. jackson, the BLACK RACIST ACTOR and the 99% of african americans who voted for obozo simply because he was a black man either don't understand the facts or refuse to believe them.
Fact is, black and hispanic unemployment is WORSE under obozo but they'll still likely vote for obozo again because he's the "entitlement" president. They don't want to stop the gravy train.
income comes from varies methods-wages and interest income are taxed at the normal income tax rate. Tax Free bonds pay no tax but allow States/cities to borrow money at low rates- dividends mainly come from corp profits-these profits were already taxed at 35% and then taxed again at 15% for a total tax of 45%. Cap gains are long term money that has already been taxed but put at risk. they are also long term so your return on investment have been eaten up by inflation. This is why you have different tax rates on different forms of income. Am I saying we should not adjust some rates-NO-but you need to understand what can happen to overall economy if you raise certain rates to high. I would not mind paying a little more if the government could run better without waste
I appreciate some sound thought here from oi812. Mitt made his money differently than Rick or Newt did. Capital gains and investment interests is taxed at 15%. This is the catagory that Mitt made the majority of his income. The title of the article shows the bias of the writer and also feeds into the ignorance of many people who don't understand this simple tax law principle. I receive income from both the 15% types and regular 1099-W2 type of income. I pay a higher % on the 1099 type of income. Are any of you saying to your tax preparers or to yourself, " I want to pay more taxes on my capital gains and investment interests gains so it is more even with my 1099-W2 reporting, even though the law says I am required to pay 15% on the other portion. Probably not, so why should Mitt be singled out for obeying the current law? I know many of you understand this principle-I am more worried about the bias of the headline used from this writer. Is he is trying to say that Rick is somewhat better than Mitt because he pays a higher rate of taxes? I bet you Rick wishes his income that he received was more in the 15% qualifying catagory if he was to tell the truth about it. I think we all would. Change the tax law if you don't like the current version.
Is capital gains income subject to SS taxes???? Medicare taxes???? It should be taxed just like personal income!!!!
It is obvious you do not understand the system at all. The amount of SS is capped so once you go over $100,000 you don't pay SS on that income.
If you invest 1,000,000 dollars and your investment loses 100,000 dollars, how much in tax deductable????
$3,000
BTW, anyone following obozo's campaign panhandling through So Ca today? I didn't see any news stories of him touring the OWS locations asking for campagn contributions. He's visiting Holmby Hills (like Beverly Hills) with hypocrit hollywood elites who have already made THEIR millions! $36,000 PER PLATE DINNER FOLKS! Then it's off to Orange County for another $36,000 PER PLATE BREAKFAST! I wonder how many "99%'s" are at THOSE events?
You obomots are such suckers and he's playing you dipsticks liek an out of tune piano. LMFAO. Thankfully, the majority of Americans are catching on and those who voted for this worthless, lying, inexperienced slug are coming out of the obozo ether. This clown is going down in Nov.
slide6- yeah we know he should not stock up his campaign fund so when Romney and Rove unleash their superpacks it can have the same effect as it had on newt in Iowa or Fl. You don't go into a gun battle carrying a knife.
Tell Alito to quit shaking his head no, Citizen United RepubliCON supreme court decision has consequences. Get used to it. Isn't it amazing to think of Alito saying it wouldn't have any effect on politics. Can't even understand the impact of his decision or doesn't have the moxie to admit his motives.
He already has $1BILLION DOLLARS! And, another broken campaign promise..."I won't use superpacs.' Another lie, another broken promise.
slide6- never answered the question- know you want him to be underfunded so you can carpet bomb him with ads. Why would anyone agree to that. Be a grown up
Fair - What is fair is always in the mind of each individual. I spent 20 years as an enlisted member of the U.S. Air Force. When I was a one striper I didn't think it was "fair" for the Master Sergeants to have the perks that they did. I worked just as hard as they did so why shouldn't I get the same perks? After I had spent 20 years and erned the rank of Master Sergeant I certainly felt that I deserved the perks and there was no way the one stripers who worked for me deserved them. Since retiring from the Air Force I worked for another company for 10 years, then decided I wanted more than a salary could provide. I started my own company. I took huge risks and sacrificed a great deal of family time and personal enjoyment to get where I am. I am not in the top 1% but getting closer and hopefully will be there some day. If you want to get rich you can't work for someone else who is taking the risk and putting in the sacrifice, you have got to do it on your own. Quit "coveting" what others have worked for and make it on your own.
This isn't a matter of perks nor is it a matter of coveting thy neighbor's goods. It's a matter of running a country.
Let's stick with your Air Force analogy (I was Navy but didn't mind the AF boys because they knew how to party). As an E1, when crap hit the fan, you were expected to help out as much as you could while your Master Sergeant was expected to contribute much more effort and experience. He took more of the heat and got the reward for the success.
That's "fair" because we don't expect as much from those who have less in this country.
beardown-this country was founded on FREEDOM which means not everyone will have equal outcome-Now we do have equal opportunity but Why should the government decide who keeps what and what is fair? It seems like you think it is the government money and they get to decide what you can keep-I would not mind a higher tax rate if they would pay down the debt and get rid of those programs that don't work and waste all of our hard earned money-There is no correlation between funding and educational output-Why should we expect capitalistic results from a socialist system? When people compete we win
You flat taxers really don't get it. Percentage should mean less than impact. Forcing college kids to pay income tax is ridiculous. Forcing the working poor to pay taxes is stupid.
Taking money away from the poor and middle class does damage to the country, both economically and socially. We don't need any more kids going hungry. We don't need to pull money out of the economy. The poor and middle class spend almost all of their income, mostly as a result of need. Take away discretionary spending, and the economy tanks.
The rich are getting richer as a result of the Bush tax cuts. The rest of us are getting poorer. That's not redistribution of wealth?? I guess it's OK as long as the rich are the guys who benefit.
The top tier got richer during this last recession, bucking a long standing trend.
So, spare me the tears for the rich. They are fine. They can pay. They have some 86% of the assets, but pay 68% of the taxes. That's fair?
Mare, if you are going to hate on the rich you are just going to give yourself an ulcer. Rich get richer in every society, always have and always will.
When you hear of all the people that DON"T pay taxes, thats also because of the Bush policy as it lowered the bottom end to just 10%.
please do not confuse assets of the wealthy and income-latest stats show that the top 1% get 16.9 of income but pay 36.4% of all income tax.
there is a good reason why the rich get richer-When Reagan was a B movie actor he noticed that actors get working once they hit a certain level of income because the RATE was too high-When you lower the RATE then the more productive keep working. This adds to the GDP of the nation , increases revenues to the government and creates JOBS
oi, don't come on here making sense you will confuse people. I don't mind chipping in more IF iknew it would go directly to debt and we could run a clean budget. Unfortunately i don't see that happeneing.
I agree with all of JCB 1236504's comments, especially the one @ 8:44 am. Can we all please just do our "homework" on all the candidates to make an informed decision when we vote. All I can say is that my "homework" has ruled out Santorum as a choice to beat O'bama in November.
carole, my homework ruled out Obama, Romney, Newt, Santorum and Paul. Now what do i do :-)
BIGATC-We have a two party system-therefore party trumps person-decide which party best suits your view and support the candidate that wins their party nomination. If you want smaller government and more freedom then go with GOP-on the other hand if you want a bigger government that controls more of your life then vote DNC
Nobody gives me that warm fuzzy, but the budget just put out by BO sealed the deal he is absolutely horrible with spending and i can't vote for him. I couldn't believe even with his rosy 4% growth and 20% revenue/GDP that will never happen, his budget still projects a spending deficit of over 700 billion in 2022. Ten years from now still that bad. Never reach his projections and probably looking at 26 to 27 trllion deficit in 2022. Fiscal responsibility is my number one, and basically only, issue i really care about this election.
Sorry, care less about what he pays in taxes than how he is going to be policing women's uteruses everywhere. I think his jobs plan is making sure women stay home having babies and cooking and cleaning, while the men bring back the bacon. He could be giving all his money to charity and I still would never vote for him and his stone age mentality.
Shophie-sorry to hear you feel that way- I know at conception that it is human and it is alive.
Romney's "income" comes off of dividends from CAPITOL GAINS and is NOT TAXED as normal income....<same with Warren Buffet, BTW>. Santorum's income is NORMAL INCOME and based on his income and deductions paid what he owed.
CAPITOL GAINS vs NORMAL INCOME....look it up.
Income that you DON"T have to work for should be taxed at a higher rate than income of common workers!!!!!
I love all the people saying don't get mad they are paying what the government told them to pay, then in the same sentence, turn around and say but 40% of people pay nothing????? HELLOO double standard. And for the love of pete NO ONE pays nothing it comes out of your check!! everyone pays, its the GOVERNMENT that decides if you get a return or not HENCE the name TAX RETURN!! dear lord.
Yes, dear Lord, 47% of the American people DO NOT pay federal income taxes. Even my 12 year old knows that!
I like liberals that complain about how much we had to borrow to give the rich Bush's tax RATE reduction but they never mention that more than double the money went to middle class and low income earners. So do they want to take those away also-One could argue that lowering tax RATES on the rich provides job creation but how many people get hired by the poor?? Oh but they consume and thus create jobs they say-well if your economy is based on consumption you end up eating yourself- What we need is to increase the wealth of this nation-not promote consumption
Fights: Because your 12 year old is part of the 47%!
It would be nice if candidates would just come out with a simple progressive tax rate plan that does not include special treatments or limits deduction credits.
I think when a candidate comes out with a tax plan we owe it to public to show how that tax plan will affect them. Give a down and dirty here is what my tax return was, after adding this tax policy here is what it would be.
This whole he paid more than I did would not be an issue if the tax policy clearly showed who pays more.
Charctine Your 12 year old is not part of the 47% unless he/she filed.
I'm voting for the most experienced and successful business man who pays his legal amount of taxes and knows how to make sure that he's paying the least amount required of him- smart man who can maybe figure out this country's budget. He also doesn't wear his religion on his sleeve or pretend to be "reformed" after his 3rd marriage and over pay on his taxes. He gives plenty to charity and I am hopeful he won't take away a women's right to choose but has the skills to build a trustworthy and powerful team around him unlike what it seems the current guy can do. Obama just didn't have enough experience in business or political office to take the countries problems on. I want to pay my fair share of taxes but I want them to go towards the most good for the country not just for pork.
I'm voting for anybody that's not Obama! My dog could run the country better than him.
I am not completely sold on Romney- but if he can turn around the olympics and turn around companies then perhaps he can turn around the Federal Government-We need someone to come in and fix the budget and get the government more efficient. The days of baseline budgeting has to end. Reorganize every department and streamline this bloated pig-Then if you want to increase taxes to pay down debt then that is fine-
Taxation of ordinary income vs Taxation of capital gains. BTW 47% of workers got a free ride and paid not one red cent in Federal income tax. Question: Did Obama and his wealthy friends pay the 30% he believes "only fair?"
This story is a total hoax ,, Santorum pays taxes on Income,, Romney pays taxes on Capital Gains,, which has a lower tax rate. Just another and dishonest Non Story,, and I back Santorum,,
The National Media, particularly MSNBC , are so Left of reality ,, its not worth reading. But read on Libbies,, you are really not smart enough to know the difference ~~~~
If you really get bored,,, tune into Media Matters,, the Radical Left organization that writes MSNBC's nightly news lines for Fat Ed Smith, Rachel Madcow Madow, and Chris Tingles Mathews,, what a group of disgusting people.
why does labor pay a higher tax? dont blame Romney for minimizing his tax in a legal way but the question is does he think it fair?
Hey Paxil,
First of all, the word "fair" is used by school children on the playground. It has no real bearing in the adult world. (Unless your a politician making a speech or a used car salesman trying to close the deal.)
Secondly, The capital gains tax rate is available to any and all investors who realize a gain in the sale of their stocks. I believe the rule is you must hold the stock for six months to qualify fo capital gains.
Why is there this rule?? I think it is there to discourage people from buying and selling daily or even hourly.
In addition, you can deduct a loss from the sale of one stock from the gain on the sale of another stock.
Notice I keep saying sale. When you sell some stock, you create what is known as a taxable event. If you just hold on to the stocks, even if they go up, you owe nothing except tax on dividend income.
Is their risk involved?? Sure is. Sometimes a lot of risk too. Also the commission on the transactions.
Alan, looks like you are getting "Desperate", sorry about you being disappointed with your Party !
Obama has surround himself with eggheads, he only has 8% of his advisors that have worked in the business world-most Presidents have somewhere around 25-60% that have worked in business. He deals with theories that don't work in the real world-We need someone to stop this out of control spending-Medicare and Social Security needs reform- Think about it-we now have two workers for every retiree so if you get the max of 22k and have 2 children each one of your children must pay you 11k for you to get your benefit-and in order for them to pay 11k they need to earn the max of 110k-the ponzi scheme is broken-reform it for the children
kinda like supply side economics- doesnt work in the real work. Allan Greenspan " my world view collapsed as I never thought intelligent people would pursue policies leading to their own destruction."
why have regs when smart people will do what is in their best interest- well the financial meltdown proved that theory wrong.
Greenspan low interest policies promoted people to borrow out the equity of their homes when they refinanced at a lower rate. That coupled with government policies that promoted low income earners to qualify for home that they should have been renting, created an over demand and thus the bubble. Wall Street did their part by over leveraging and becoming players in the market and when gas prices went up the whole thing came down. So you could say 1/3 went to the borrowers-1/3 went to Wall Street and 1/3 went to government. Funny isn't it when Reagan lowered tax Rates the revenues increased to the government and the GDP doubled-YES problem was congress over spent and the debt doubled as well-however the percentage of debt to GDP was the same when Reagan came to office as when he left-BUT you had doubled the economy
The political world, according to some of us, seems to be divided into two categories: "eggheads" and "businessmen," meaning what used to be called financiers. It's all so much simpler than I'd thought.
Taxation of ordinary income vs Taxation of capital gains. BTW 47% of workers got a free ride and paid not one red cent in Federal income tax. Question: Did Obama and his wealthy friends pay the 30% he believes "only fair?"
I'm getting tired of that worn out "40-something percent of Americans pay no taxes". On the surface the lazy among us might get upset with that statistic but when looking into why they aren't paying taxes it boils down to one of two primary reasons: Either they fall below the minimum earning levels for paying taxes OR they have enough deductions to offset the taxes. And btw, the "get a job" thingy doesn't cut it as long as we're in a situation where there aren't enough jobs out there that pay a sustainable living wage.
61% of all non-tax paying citizens make less than $20K per year. Coupled with those who have itemized deductions that are equal to or above their taxable income make up the rest. So why is it so hard for you republicans to understand why it is that the percentage is so high? Btw, on average there are currently 4 applicants for every available job.
You are getting tired of hearing about the 47% that pay no Federal tax, I am tired of that happening-everyone should pay something even if it is just $1 then they have skin in the game. If they have no skin then they can keep voting for more benefits-that is not good
If you pay nothing for something, you don't value it much at all. All the benefits of being a citizen and "others" must pay theirs and your freight. BTW The Obama Administration says that the new job growth has been great. Then again, they all have high paying jobs.
If you're a family of four making less than $20K/year exactly how much blood to you want to extract out of the turnip? You're level of understanding of what it means to be poor is nil so why not sit back in your Barco Loungers and shut the hell up.