Santorum Releases 4 Years of Tax Returns

Rick Santorum has released four years of his tax returns to Politico, and they show that while his income falls a long way short of Mitt Romney's or Newt Gingrich's, his Washington connections have helped him prosper since leaving Congress. His income hit $1.1 million in 2009—up from nearly $660,000 in 2007—much of it coming from media appearances and consulting work on behalf of health care and energy interests, AP reports. It slipped to $923,000 in 2010.

Santorum and his wife, Karen, appear to have paid a tax rate close to 30%—nearly double the rate Mitt Romney's tax returns revealed. Santorum—whose disclosure forms last year showed investment and real estate assets of up to $2.5 million—has now released more tax returns than either Romney or Gingrich. Ron Paul has not released his. "I don’t want to be embarrassed because I don’t have a greater income" than the other candidates, Paul quipped during a debate last month. (More Rick Santorum stories.)