GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry continued to pressure Mitt Romney to release his tax returns, warning voters that any eventual nominee would need to show greater transparency before a match-up with President Obama.
"You know, it is important for Mitt to release his tax returns," Perry said Wednesday on Fox News. "The fact is, we can't fire our nominee in September. By then, it's too late. So if we've got a flawed candidate that's going forward and someone who's gonna get eaten alive either because of business practices … we need to talk about it now.
"This is not a personal attack at all," insisted the Texas governor. "This is about who is the candidate."
Perry said he's consistently released his tax returns over the last 30 years. "My taxes have been out since the '80s. Every year they've been out," he added.
Earlier Wednesday morning New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), a Romney backer, also
urged him to release his tax returns.
Traditionally, presidential candidates release their tax returns sometime during the campaign. Romney's opponents, both in the GOP presidential field and among Democrats, have charged that Romney has been dawdling in releasing his returns.
In response to a question during a Republican presidential debate on Monday, Romney said he would likely release his tax returns in April. Rival candidate Newt Gingrich has pressed Romney to release the returns ahead of Saturday's South Carolina primary vote.
On Tuesday, Romney said that he "probably" pays a marginal tax rate of about 15 percent. Americans with lower incomes sometimes pay up to a marginal rate of 25 percent. Romney's lower rate is likely due to the fact that most of his income derives from investments, rather than salary or normal wages.
Romney's 15 percent estimate will likely encourage critics who want him to release his tax returns, and Democrats will likely argue that he is paying a lower rate compared to middle-class Americans. Democrats have sought to paint Romney, the former CEO of investment firm Bain Capital, as out of touch with the concerns of middle-class Americans.
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