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Herausforderer Joe Biden und US-Präsident Donald Trump (r.).
© AFP
Washington – A few hours before the first television matchup in the US presidential election campaign, Democratic challenger Joe Biden fueled controversy over incumbent Donald Trump’s finances. Biden and his vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris released their 2019 tax returns on Tuesday. The Democratic campaign team asked Trump to do the same with his own return.
Contrary to the practice in American politics, the Republican has kept his documents under lock and key for years. More recently, the issue came to the fore in the election campaign after the newspaper New York Times reported that Trump had paid little or no federal tax in recent years.
📽️ Video | Veit, ORF Washington correspondent
“Historic step”
The statement from Joe Biden and his wife Jill indicates that they paid more than $ 346,000 in taxes and other payments to the federal government during the past year. The combined annual income was therefore almost $ 985,000 (844,044.56 euros). The Bidens requested a refund of nearly $ 47,000, which they said would have paid too much. Trump paid after portraying the New York Times in ten of the 15 years through 2017 there are no federal taxes at all. Their corresponding load in 2016 and 2017 was $ 750 each. Trump has rejected the bill, saying he has paid “many millions of dollars in taxes.” In the United States, federal and state taxes are collected separately.
Biden’s campaign team deputy director Kate Bedingfield called the release of the documents Tuesday a historic step that should restore Americans’ faith in political leadership. “Mr. President, publish your tax return or shut up,” he told reporters. Initially, a statement from Republicans was not available. The evening’s television debate (US local time; Wednesday night CEST) was eagerly awaited. Biden is just ahead of Trump in the polls. In some parts of the US, voting takes place these days before the actual date of November 3. Furthermore, a comparatively high number of votes by mail is expected. (APA / Reuters)
