About 46 percent of Americans owed no federal income tax in 2011, although many of them paid other forms of taxes. More than 16 million elderly Americans avoid federal income taxes solely because of tax breaks that apply only to the elderly, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Obama’s campaign called the video “shocking.”

“It’s hard to serve as president for all Americans when you’ve disdainfully written off half the nation,” Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a statement.

The private remarks are the latest in a string of comments from the multimillionaire Republican businessman whom Democrats have criticized as out of touch. During the primary campaign, Romney insisted that he was “not concerned” about the very poor, and said that his wife drove a “couple of Cadillacs.” Aides to Obama’s campaign said the latest video would help them continue to make the case that Romney doesn’t understand the concerns of average Americans.

Voters say they believe Obama has a better understanding of their problems and concerns than Romney does. A CBS/New York Times poll showed 60 percent of likely voters said Obama understands the needs and problems of people like them, while 37 percent said he did not.

For Romney, the same question found that 46 percent felt he did understand people’s needs, 48 percent said he didn’t.

The remarks came at a closed-door fundraiser that Mother Jones reported occurred after Romney had clinched the Republican nomination. To protect the identity of the person who provided the remarks, Mother Jones blurred out the video and did not provide the date or location of the fundraiser.

Romney formally clinched the nomination May 29 and formally accepted it last month at the Republican convention in Tampa.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press

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