Romney Says His Effective Tax Rate Is 'Probably' 15%

NYT: Facing Pointed Attacks, Romney

Under new pressure to release his tax returns, Mitt Romney on Tuesday acknowledged that he pays an effective tax rate of about 15 percent because so much of his fortune comes from past investments.

"It's probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything," Mr. Romney said. "Because my last 10 years, I've - my income comes overwhelmingly from investments made in the past, rather than ordinary income, or rather than earned annual income."

The vast majority of the income Mr. Romney reported over 12 months in 2010 and '11 was dividends from investments, capital gains on mutual funds and his post-retirement share of profits and investment returns from Bain Capital, the firm he once led. And Mr. Romney also noted that he made hundreds of thousands of dollars from speaking engagements.