WINNSBORO, S.C. (AP) -- Newt Gingrich says he paid 31 percent of his income in taxes for 2010, more than double the 15 percent that Mitt Romney says he paid.
The former House speaker told reporters Wednesday that he is not criticizing Romney for paying a tax rate below what most Americans pay. Gingrich said, "My goal is not to raise Mitt Romney's taxes, but to let everyone pay Romney's rate."
A Gingrich spokesman said the 31 percent was the effective federal rate on income.
Gingrich's tax plan would give Americans the option of paying a 15 percent flat tax, which he has now named after Romney, or sticking with the current tax system.
Gingrich said he would release his 2010 tax return on Thursday and his 2011 return after it has been prepared.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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