Just as he is presenting himself to voters in two Midwestern states as the son of a coal-mining family with strong ties to blue-collar America, Republican hopeful Rick Santorum has released four years of tax returns that show earnings hovering around US$1 million ($1.2 million) a year since leaving Congress
Republican hopeful's earnings clash with pick-up truck story
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Santorum, who campaigned yesterday in Michigan and Ohio, which will be one of 11 states voting on Super Tuesday in two weeks, likes to stress his western Pennsylvania roots. But since he lost re-election to the Senate in 2006, he has settled in a four-bedroom house in Virginia close to Washington on 2ha, worth US$1.4 million in 2010.
Still serving as a senator in 2006, Santorum earned about US$165,200 annually. But his financial picture improved sharply on leaving and setting up his consulting company, Excelsior LLC. According to his filings he earned US$659,000 in 2007, US$952,000 in 2008 and US$1.1 million in 2009, before dropping slightly to US$923,000 in 2010.
Still, Romney will have to direct his fire carefully, not least because Santorum earns 4 per cent of what he takes in each year. The filings also show the Santorum family paying double the tax rate applied to Romney, whose effective 13.9 per cent tax rate is a sore point with many voters.
Most of Romney's income comes from investments - hence the lower bracket - while Santorum has actually worked for his.
- Independent