Santorum made $1 Million a year, tax returns show

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum answers questions at a news conference at the statehouse, Feb. 13, 2012, in Olympia, Wash.

/ AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum's income rose each successive year that he was out of Congress until he was earning about $1 million a year, according to four years of tax returns that Santorum made public late Wednesday.

In 2007, after he lost his bid for reelection to the Senate, Santorum earned $659,000, mostly from his Washington, D.C.-based consulting business. He made $952,000 in 2008, $1.1 million in 2009 and about $923,000 in 2010. Santorum and his wife, Karen, also made between roughly $42,000 and $45,000 each year from rental properties.

They paid $167,000 in taxes in 2007, about $262,000 in 2008, $310,000 in 2009, and $263,000 in 2010, meaning they paid between 25 and 30 percent of their income to the government each year.

Special Section: Campaign 2012

Santorum said on CNN Wednesday evening that he thinks he paid an effective rate of 25 to 28 percent on his income, and that he decided to release tax forms for every year he was out of public service. "I thought it was important to let people know what I've done since I've been in the private sector," he said.

Santorum is the third 2012 presidential candidate to release tax returns. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich released his 2010 returns, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made public his 2010 and 2011 returns.

Santorum released the most information of any candidate, and the forms show he paid a higher tax rate than Romney, who paid about 14 percent on mostly unearned income from investments, and a slightly lower rate than Gingrich, who paid about 32 percent in taxes.

Each year, the Santorums gave between $13,000 and $30,000 to charity, with a maximum of $29,882 in 2009. In 2010, he gave $16,289 in charitable donations.

Santorum, who prepares his own taxes, left the campaign trail in late January to prepare them for release. Politico published copies on its website, but other news organizations were not provided copies on Wednesday.

[AVRWEBGUY]

Santorum has sold himself in the Republican primaries as both a Washington outsider and a social conservative, stressing his family's coal-mining background and his appeal to religious and working-class voters. Anybody that does any research on this guy however would realize that he is anything but a Washington outsider. Since losing his re-election bid he has chosen to work for Washington lobbying firms, and he has been cleaning up ever since. He is not a solution to the problems in Washington, he is part of the problem. And while I have no issue with a candidate being religious, this man is a zealot and an anti-feminist with a very anti-democratic agenda. If you have any doubts about his real agenda check with his former constituents in Pennsylvania and you'll realize why they voted him out.

[benunhappy]

AMEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS

[ricscore]

"In 2007, after he lost his bid for reelection to the Senate, Santorum earned $659,000, mostly from his Washington, D.C.-based consulting business. He made $952,000 in 2008, $1.1 million in 2009 and about $923,000 in 2010". That is not a real job, that is from the benfits of being in the Senate, its one hand washing the other. Give me a break, consulting, what a joke. Legal stealing, consulting, I'm still laughing.

[jdaryyl]

I can't believe the elite are now choosing this smug control freak who is actually pure establishment when it comes to specifics like 1) Patriot act 2) NDAA 3) our privately owned by big banksters Federal Reserve 4) Military interventionism and 6) bully Iran or anyone else who won't be a part of a global banking system.

Santorum = Obama on major issues & Obama wins (Santy pushes too much of HIS religion)

Mitt = Obama on major issues & Mitt or Obama wins (same person one white and one black)

Gingrich = Obama on major issues & Obama wins (an obese fatcat vs a spry black man?... yes America is superficial)

Paul wins with or without voter fraud general election IMO!

[ANYBODY_BUT_BARRY]

Paul is the only sane choice. Personal liberty and freedom trounce all, always have, always will. His support has tripled and quadrupled. He might not win this time, but is setting up his son for 2016

[benunhappy]

lIKE HIM i HOPE YOU DIE SOON! fOLKS LIKE HIM (CAN'T DECIDE WHAT SIDE TO PREACH FROM)first I'll try to be independent... oh well that didn't work so I'll try telling them I'm conservative they will believe anything, just try to stop them from watching BILL, He speaks with money flowing out of his mouth and he hates PAUL.