Joe Biden’s unremarkable tax return falls under the political spotlight

Earlier this week the deadline passed in the United States for taxpayers to file their annual returns.

Federal and state taxes in the United States are much lower than in Ireland. But the system operates differently.

After years of having taxes automatically deducted at source in Ireland under the PAYE system, having to remember to send off cheques every quarter to federal and state authorities was certainly something new.

Something else that was new was the level of transparency regarding the tax affairs of those at the top of the political pyramid.

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Just like in Ireland, tax authorities in the US must maintain the utmost confidentiality and can only release information to appropriately authorised individuals and agencies.

Taxpayers can, of course, publish their own data.

And since the 1970s, most presidents and some vice-presidents have voluntarily chosen to release their returns publicly.

Donald Trump, of course, was different. He declined to publish his tax details on the grounds that his affairs were under audit.

Three-year battle

The powerful ways and means committee in the House of Representatives waged a three-year legal battle to access this information before the US Supreme Court ruled in its favour last year.

The returns showed that Mr Trump paid no federal taxes in 2020 and only $750 in 2016 and 2017.

On the other hand, he paid close to $1 million in 2018.

[ Donald Trump tax returns made public after years of legal battles ]

In advance of all that goes into a presidential visit to Ireland, I had filed my returns and sent off cheques to tax authorities a number of weeks ago.

I had then forgotten the whole thing until last Tuesday evening when an email from the White House press office dropped into my inbox.

Here were the tax returns of president Joe Biden and his wife Jill as well as those for vice-president Kamala Harris and her husband Doug.

Presidents in the United States are paid a salary but some can have outside income. The returns can also show amounts paid to charities.

The White House said the president and the first lady had reported, in a joint submission, federal adjusted gross income of $579,514 last year.

Money from books

Collectively between federal and income taxes in the states of Virginia (where Ms Biden works as a teacher) and Delaware (where they live when not in Washington), they paid $169,820 in 2022.

Essentially, the tax returns show that majority of the Bidens’ income came from the president’s $400,000 government salary and his wife’s earnings from Northern Virginia Community College, where she is an English professor.

The president also received some money generated from the sale of books he had written, as well as from a pension.

[ US media takes a dim view of Biden’s ‘taxpayer-funded family reunion’ in Ireland ]

The White House said the Biden’s effective federal income tax rate was 23.8 per cent. “The president and first lady also reported contributions of $20,180 to 20 different charities. The largest gift to charity was $5,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, a public charity dedicated to ensuring that all children are free from the threat of abuse.

“They also donated to St Joseph on the Brandywine [the president’s Catholic parish in Delaware], to the tragedy assistance programme for survivors, and the national fraternal order of police foundation, among other charities.”

Tax returns for vice-president Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff showed they reported federal adjusted gross income of $456,918 in 2022.

“They paid $93,570 in federal income tax, amounting to a 2022 effective federal income tax rate of 20.5 per cent. They also paid $17,612 in California income tax, and Mr Emhoff (who is a lawyer) paid $9,697 in District of Columbia income tax. ”

“They contributed $23,000 to charity in 2022″, the White House said.

Among the donations was a $5,000 payment to Howard University in Washington, which the vice-president attended as a student.

Acute polarisation

The White House said that Mr Biden had now made available 25 years of tax returns from his period in public life.

The release by the White House of the tax returns of the president and vice-president come at a time of acute political polarisation in Washington.

Republicans contend that the pursuit of Trump’s tax returns by Democrats was politically motivated.

[ Biden proposes raising US corporate tax and targets the wealthy ]

Republicans, who now hold a majority in the House of Representatives, are working on investigations into the finances and business dealings of members of the Biden family.

With so many subpoenas and legal letters flying around Washington, as well as claims and counter claims that records such as tax returns are being “weaponised”, the time may come for all politicians to release details of their financial affairs.