Humbled by a stunning loss in South Carolina, Mitt Romney said last night he would release the tax returns demanded by rivals as he bids to regain the upper hand in the volatile Republican presidential race.
Mr Romney, the longtime front-runner and one of the wealthiest US presidential candidates in history, lost to a resurgent Newt Gingrich in the conservative southern state on Saturday after stumbling badly in debates with clumsy responses to demands that he disclose his tax history.
Trying to recapture his footing as the contest heads to more populous and more moderate Florida, Mr Romney said he would release his 2010 returns and an estimate for 2011 tomorrow
"We made a mistake holding off as long as we did and it just was a distraction," Mr Romney said on Fox News Sunday.
Mr Romney said the returns would be posted on the internet and he emphasised he was releasing two years of returns after Mr Gingrich posted 2010 taxes on Thursday.
He slammed Mr Gingrich as a Washington insider, a line of attack he is expected to use going forward, and called on his rival to release details of his contract with the government-sponsored mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac.
Mr Gingrich's work for Freddie Mac could raise concerns for some voters in Florida, a state that has been hit hard by the downturn in the US real estate market.
"He talks about great, bold movements and ideas, well what's he been doing for 15 years? He's been working as a lobbyist ... that's selling influence around Washington," Mr Romney told about 300 supporters in a campaign stop last night outside Daytona Beach, Florida.
Mr Romney's tax announcement was meant to draw a line under a bad week punctuated by his own missteps, a surprising turn in an otherwise tightly scripted campaign.
In the midst of a halting response to the tax return controversy, Mr Romney said he paid a rate of about 15 per cent, low compared with many US wage earners but in line with what wealthy individuals pay on income from investments.
Mr Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives with a sharp tongue that played well in debates, pounced on Mr Romney's weak flank and walloped the former Massachusetts governor by 40 per cent to 28 per cent in South Carolina.
The Gingrich win reshaped the Republican race and reflected a party sharply divided over how to beat Democratic president Barack Obama in the November 6th election.
There have been three nominating contests so far and Mr Gingrich, Mr Romney and former senator Rick Santorum have each won one.
A victory in Florida's primary on January 31st would restore Mr Romney's momentum after South Carolina, and a Mr Gingrich win would solidify him as a serious challenger to the former business executive. A protracted and poisonous Republican battle, in turn, could be a boon to Mr Obama's re-election bid.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who is not campaigning in Florida, is fourth at about 9 per cent.
Reuters