CHARLESTON, South Carolina — Already under fire from his fellow Republican presidential candidates for his business career in private equity, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) discussed another contentious issue — the fact that he has thus far refused to release his tax returns — during a press conference in South Carolina earlier this week.
At the press conference, Romney said his tax rate was close to 15 percent because most of his income was derived from capital gains and investment income, meaning he pays a lower rate than many middle-class families. Romney also acknowledged that he had other income from speaking engagements, though, he said, it was “not very much.”
In reality, Romney hauled in more than $374,000 in speaking fees over a one-year span, an amount that would put him on the cusp of the top 1 percent of earners for the year. ThinkProgress asked South Carolina voters if they thought Romney’s income from speaking engagements amounted to “not very much,” and they seemed to disagree with his characterization.
Watch their answers here:
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