羅姆尼公佈一直被追討的繳稅記錄

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has released his federal tax records, showing he earned more than $42 million during the last two years and paid an estimated $6.2 million in taxes. The records for Romney and his wife Ann, released by his campaign early Tuesday, put their tax rate at 13.9 percent in 2010, with an expected rate of 15.4 percent in 2011. Romney's tax rate is far below that of other high-income earners because his most of his income comes from investments. Ordinary wage earners pay up to a top tax rate of 35 percent. The records show most of Romney's income was earned on capital gains from various investments. The U.S. tax code places capital gains at a rate of 15 percent. His personal net worth is believed to be between $190 million and $250 million - wealth built during his career running a private investment firm.

Romney's decision to release his tax records comes in the aftermath of his upset loss in last week's South Carolina primary election to former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who attacked Romney for his reluctance to release the records. Romney's vast fortune will likely place the former Massachusetts governor in the middle of the growing debate over income inequality in America. Critics say his private investment firm bought dozens of businesses and laid off employees, while making a profit for himself and his investors. The Romneys also made about $7 million in charitable contributions during the last two years, much of it to the Mormon Church, of which he is a prominent member.美國共和黨總統參選人羅姆尼公佈了他的聯邦報稅記錄，顯示他在過去兩年的收入超過4千200萬美元，估計繳稅620萬美元。羅姆尼的競選團隊星期二早晨公佈羅姆尼和妻子安·羅姆尼的報稅記錄，顯示他們2010年的納稅率爲13.9%，預計2011年的納稅率爲15.4%，這遠遠低於其他高收入者。因爲羅姆尼大部分收入來自投資。美國普通工薪階層收入最高稅率爲35%。

記錄顯示，羅姆尼大部分收入來自各種投資的資本收益。美國稅法將資本收益的稅率定爲15%。羅姆尼的個人淨資產據信在1.9億美元到2.5億美元之間。他在經營一傢俬人投資公司期間積累起這筆財富。

羅姆尼在作出公佈繳稅記錄的決定之前，上星期在南卡羅來納州初選中意外敗給前衆議院議長金裏奇。金裏奇就羅姆尼不願公佈這一記錄對他進行攻擊。前麻薩諸塞州州長羅姆尼的巨大財富可能讓他成爲逐漸升溫的有關美國收入不平等爭論的衆矢之的。批評者說，他的私人投資公司買下數十家公司並裁減員工，卻讓他自己和他的投資者謀利。羅姆尼在過去兩年間還捐出了700萬美元的慈善捐款，大部分給了摩門教會。羅姆尼是著名的摩門教徒。