[ad_1]
(CNN) –– Joe Biden, former president and Democratic presidential candidate, released his 2019 tax returns on Tuesday. Documents show that Biden and his wife, Jill, paid nearly $ 300,000 in federal income taxes that year. In addition, they had an adjusted net income of approximately $ 985,000.
Biden released his taxes hours before the first presidential debate with Donald Trump. The publication also occurs two days after the newspaper The New York Times reported that Trump did not pay federal income taxes in 10 of 15 years since 2000. Today, the president spent just $ 750 in taxes in each of his first two years in office, 2016 and 2017, the newspaper reported. Trump has not disclosed his tax returns to the public. This is in contrast to decades of precedent that candidates and presidents of the main parties have respected.
California Sen. Kamala Harris, Biden’s vice presidential runner, also released her 2019 tax returns on Tuesday. Records indicate that she and her husband, Doug Emhoff, paid about $ 1.2 million in taxes and had an adjusted gross income of about $ 3 million.
This is a historic level of transparency. And it will give the American people faith once again that their leaders will look out for them and not their own results, “Biden’s deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield told reporters on Tuesday. Bedingfield added that Biden has disclosed more than two decades of tax returns.
Bidens’ income and tax payments
The Bidens had $ 14,700 in charitable donations, according to tax documents. Records show that the Bidens earned income from Northern Virginia Community College, where Jill Biden teaches. Also from the University of Pennsylvania, where Joe Biden ran a center for diplomacy. In addition, they received earnings from speeches and books, which they passed through corporations they had established.
Biden was a senator for six terms, before joining Barack Obama’s presidential bid. His financial disclosures frequently showed that he was the least wealthy members of the Senate. Biden has even described himself as “Middle Class Joe” on the campaign trail.
But in the two years after leaving the White House, Biden made $ 15.6 million, mostly through conference fees and book profits. He and Jill made $ 11 million in 2017 and $ 4.6 million in 2018. In that sense, they paid $ 3.7 million in taxes in 2017 and $ 1.5 million in 2018, financial documents published by Biden’s campaign last year.
The explosive report of The New York Times about Trump’s taxes is based on more than two decades of tax information. The post describes Trump’s huge financial losses and years of tax evasion.
Trump’s taxes also reveal that he claimed a refund of $ 72.9 million for taxes he paid between 2005 and 2008. The matter is now part of an audit by the Internal Revenue Service.
Trump rejected the story of The New York Times at a briefing at the White House on Sunday. The president said he pays “a lot” in federal income taxes.
Arlette Saenz and Jeff Zeleny, both from CNN, contributed to this report.
