Bidens report earnings of over $600,000 for 2021

International

-DW News

Washington,
Apr
16:
US
President
Joe
Biden
and
his
wife
Jill
Biden
reported
earnings
of
over
$600,000
(€554,820)
on
their
federal
tax
returns
for
2021.

The
couple
paid
$150,439
(€139,110)
in
taxes
after
earning
$610,702.
This
is
equivalent
to
a
tax
rate
of
24.6%,
the
White
House
said.

Vice
President
Kamala
Harris
and
her
husband
Doug
Emhoff
also
released
their
2021
tax
returns.
The
pair
earned
$1,655,563
(€1,530,891)
and
paid
$523,371
(€483,959)
in
federal
income
tax
(31.6%).

Why
are
the
US
president’s
tax
returns
important?

It
has
been
customary
for
US
presidents
to
publish
their
tax
returns
since
the
1970s.

Former
President
Donald
Trump
declined
to
publish
his
returns.
Trump
served
one
term
before
being
defeated
by
Biden
in
the
2020
presidential
election.

Biden
campaigned
on
transparency
of
personal
finances
and
criticized
Trump
for
not
publishing
his
tax
returns.
Biden
released
22
years
of
tax
filings
ahead
of
the
2020
election.

Trump
claimed
that
an
audit
prevented
him
from
releasing
his
taxes.

The
New
York
Times
obtained
Trump’s
tax
records,
which
showed
that
he
paid
$750
(€694)
in
federal
income
taxes
in
2017.
IRS
figures
indicate
that
the
average
amount
of
tax
paid
for
that
year
was
around
$12,200
(€11,281).

“With
this
release,
the
president
has
shared
a
total
of
24
years
of
tax
returns
with
the
American
public,
once
again
demonstrating
his
commitment
to
being
transparent
with
the
American
people
about
the
finances
of
the
commander
in
chief,”
the
White
House
said
in
a
statement.

A
decrease
in
income

2021
and
2020
both
showed
a
drop
in
income
for
the
Bidens.
In
2019,
the
couple
earned
nearly
$1
million
(€924,695),
with
sources
of
revenue
including
book
sales
and
speeches.

The
pair
also
received
income
from
their
teaching
positions
at
the
University
of
Pennsylvania
and
Northern
Virginia
Community
College.

Jill
Biden
received
$67,116
(€62,062)
for
teaching
at
the
Northern
Virginia
Community
College
in
2019.
She
maintained
her
position
after
her
husband
was
elected
president.

US
presidents
are
granted
an
annual
salary
of
$400,000
(€369,878)
before
taxes.

sdi/jsi
(AP,
AFP,
Reuters,
dpa)

Source: DW