WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is launching a new ad that questions whether rival Mitt Romney paid any income taxes in the past.
The ad shows footage from a Romney interview with ABC News in which the Republican presidential candidate was asked if he had ever paid a lower tax rate than 13.9 percent. The narrator asks, "Did Romney pay 10 percent in taxes? Five percent? Zero?"
The ad is slated to air in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio during the coming week, the same states where Romney is taking a bus tour beginning Saturday.
Obama allies like Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid have questioned whether Romney paid taxes in the past decade.
Romney has responded that he has paid taxes every year — and, he adds, "a lot of taxes."
The ad includes a reference to media reports about a tax shelter pursued by Marriott International Inc. while Romney served on the company's board.
Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said the Obama campaign was pushing "another dishonorable and dishonest attack."
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