FLORENCE, S.C. — His wealth and taxes suddenly a campaign focus, Mitt Romney said Tuesday he pays an effective federal tax rate of about 15 percent. That’s far less than if his earnings were wages rather than gains from investments and dividends.
Romney told reporters he also received money from speechmaking before he announced his presidential candidacy early last year “but not very much.” In his financial disclosure statement, released last August, he reported being paid $374,327.62 for such appearances for the 12 months ending last February.
That amount alone would place his income among the top 1 percent of all Americans, and Romney’s description of it as a relatively small amount suggested his overall income was far higher.
