TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Mitt Romney’s tax returns and Newt Gingrich’s business dealings are likely to remain at center stage of the increasingly contentious Republican presidential primary campaign in Florida.
Records released by Romney’s campaign show that the former Massachusetts governor earned $21.7 million in 2010. He donated a combined $3 million to charitable causes and the Mormon Church and paid about $3 million in federal income taxes for an effective tax rate of about 14 percent.
A new line of criticism rising from the records is expected to be leveled at the former front-runner, who suddenly slipped in the polls in Florida after Gingrich’s overwhelming victory in South Carolina.
In Monday’s debate, Gingrich faced harsh questions about his own financial dealings, particularly over his contract with the mortgage giant Freddie Mac.
Source: Steve Peoples – AP
