President Candidates Disclose 2007 Tax Returns

Add comment May 30th, 2008

 Wendy M. Blair, CFSC 

The President, Vice President, and the presidential candidates all released their 2007 tax returns.  It took Bill and Hillary a little bit of time, but when you pay in millions – you wait until the last minute to file!  Personally, I find the numbers just fascinating and if you haven’t seen them, I hope you do too! 

• President and Mrs. Bush filed a joint return with $719,274 of taxable income.  Their income was from his salary and investment income from a blind trust.  They had a tax liability of $221,635 and made charitable contributions of $165,660.
• Vice President Cheney and wife, Lynne, had taxable income of approximately $2.5 million and a tax liability over $600,000.  The Cheney’s income was comprised of his salary, Mrs. Cheney’s book royalties, and pensions.  The Cheneys donated $166,547 to charity in 2007.
• Senator Hillary Clinton reported income from her Senate salary and interest on investments.  She and former president, Bill Clinton, also received substantial amounts from his speeches ($10.1 million), from his book royalty ($4.4 mil), and from investments ($6.5 mil).  Their total income for 2007 was over $20 million.  They donated approximately $3 million to charities which reduced their tax liability.
• The Obamas received salary from his position as Senator and Michelle’s employment salary.  The Obamas also had book royalties of approximately $4 million.  Their AGI was $4,139,965 and they made charitable donations of $240,370.
• Finally, John McCain filed a separate return and reported AGI of $386,527.  This was from his Senate salary and other investments.  He reported charitable gifts of $105,467.  John’s wife Cindy, a principal executive in the family-owned business, did not release her separately filed tax return.