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March 25, 2008
Obama Releases 2000-2006 Tax Returns
Barack Obama today released his 2000-2006 tax returns:
Here is a summary of the figures:
What is surprising, given the recent controversy over Obama's membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ, is how little the Obamas apparently gave to charity -- well short of the biblical 10% tithe for all seven years. In two of the years, the Obamas gave far less than 1% of their income to charity; in three of the years, they gave around 1% of their income to charity. Only in the last two years have they given substantially more as their income skyrocketed -- 4.7% in 2005 and 6.1% in 2006. (Of course, it is possible that the Obamas may have made gifts to other worthy causes that were not deductible for federal income tax purposes.)
Update:
- Bloomberg News: Obamas Gave Less Than 1 Percent of 2000-2004 Income to Charity, by Ryan J. Donmoyer & Julianna Goldman
- CNN: Obama Releases Tax Returns, Challenges Clinton to Follow Suit
- Fox News: Obamas Open Tax Returns, Earned Nearly $1M in 2006
- The Hill: Obama Posts Tax Returns, Urges Clinton to Do Same, by Sam Youngman
- The Huffington Post: Obama Posts Six Years Of Tax Returns
- L.A. Times: Obama Campaign Posts His Tax Returns on Web, by Michael Muskal
- MSNBC: Obama Releases Tax Returns to 2000, by Domenico Montanaro
- New York Sun: Obamas Check "Yes" and then "No" on Public Financing, by Russell Berman
- Reuters: Obama Releases Tax Returns, Says Clinton Should Too
- Wall Street Journal: Obama Releases Seven Years of Tax Filings, by Susan Davis
- Washington Post: Obama, Releasing Returns, Presses Clinton on Taxes, by Matthew Mosk & Alec MacGillis
Update #2: From Donklephant::
Hillary spokesperson Phil Singer blasted out an email at 11:23 a.m. insisting that Obama release his tax returns for back years,
Exactly two minutes later, at 11:25 a.m., Obama spokesperson Tommy Vietor emailed out word that Obama had posted his tax returns for 2000-2006 on his campaign web site.
March 25, 2008 in Political News | Permalink
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Comments
Looking at 2007 return: The Congressional Black Caucus is a charity? A club for black members of congress is a charity? That's interesting
Posted by: ech | Mar 25, 2008 1:05:39 PM
Wow, what a well-paying gig this Senator stuff is.
Posted by: Mr. Bingley | Mar 25, 2008 1:11:47 PM
In Jewish law, at least, the biblical 10% is on after-tax income.
Incidentally, since I'm not a campaign buff -- why has their joint income skyrocketed so in the last couple of years?!?
Posted by: JSinger | Mar 25, 2008 1:16:44 PM
Is this standard procedure? Have all the candidates done this? If so, why? And if not, why Obama?
Posted by: Will | Mar 25, 2008 1:16:47 PM
In the United States charitable giving is thought to be that which shows up on your income tax return, but that's a fallacy. In the United States for a donation to be tax deductible it must be made to an IRS licensed charity i.e. a 501(c)3 corporation. If you pay your grandmother's rent, that's not charity. If you pay your widowed neice's children's college tuition, that's not charity. If you help your immigrant gardner with his travel costs to attend his father's funeral, that's not charity. People can and do many good works that would qualify as the biblical tithe without going anywhere near a 501(c)3 corporation.
The moral here, if there is one, that those who release their tax returns had better, by God, only be donating to IRS licensed corporations because otherwise it doesn't count.
Posted by: oregonjon | Mar 25, 2008 1:28:45 PM
I don't think one can assume that what someone puts on their tax forms is the sum total of their actual charitable contributions for the year. I generally deduct what I give in the envelope, but do not deduct many other gifts I give to the church and various other charities. It's not always worth it to spend the year detailing each gift.
Perhaps he will say that he was withholding giving to try to force Pastor Wright to change his ways. :)
Posted by: Dan | Mar 25, 2008 1:29:52 PM
Looking at the AGI jump after ascension to the legislature brings up a curious point. I wonder if someone did a meta-analysis of this for all 100 senators, would they find a similar jump? I've always thought it interesting how "public servants" become millionaires overnight when they're given control of the country's purse.
Crooks, the whole lot of them.
Posted by: chris | Mar 25, 2008 1:31:15 PM
recent studies show conservatives are more generous with their money than liberals. In BHO's case, far, far, more. What an tight wad; he'd have been better off not claiming anything.
Posted by: quasimodo | Mar 25, 2008 1:34:42 PM
Studies repeatedly show that conservatives give a far larger percentage of their income to charity than do leftists. It's just a fact, and one folks should remember when they hear leftists talk.
Posted by: PrestoPundit | Mar 25, 2008 1:37:46 PM
Bush's 06 returns show 10.2% in charitable gifts ($78,100 on $765,801 AGI). Sounds like a tithe to me.
Posted by: Eric Hall | Mar 25, 2008 1:41:05 PM
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream --- income from his book sales?
Posted by: jp | Mar 25, 2008 1:41:11 PM
Educated guesses on both of these: Joint income likely skyrocketed from 2 best-selling books. Michelle Obama has likely earned more actual salary than Barack in recent years.
Posted by: dms | Mar 25, 2008 1:49:28 PM
The Congressional Black Caucus is tax-deductible?
Posted by: Mikey | Mar 25, 2008 1:49:52 PM
JSinger, I'm pretty sure we're looking at both book profits and Michelle's raise at the hospital which was in the news a couple of weeks ago.
Posted by: TBradshaw | Mar 25, 2008 1:51:01 PM
Skyrocketed because of his book deal, speaking fees now that he's famous, etc.
Posted by: justsomeeater | Mar 25, 2008 1:53:32 PM
JSinger:
Barack has published a book, which is the source of a significant part of his income from the past several years.
Posted by: lawhawk | Mar 25, 2008 1:54:40 PM
What I find remarkable is how our tax laws allow these millionaires to claim a child care tax deduction.
Why would our tax laws allow millionaires to get this tax break?
Posted by: justsomeeater | Mar 25, 2008 1:54:57 PM
Obama wrote a couple of best-selling books during his rise to power. My guess is that his 2007 return is going to show even more income because interest increases in rough proportion to campaign tempo.
His wife's salary roughly doubled in 2006, possibly as a result of Barack's efforts on behalf of her employer, although she and he both deny that was the reason. In any event, the doubling is as clear as paper.
It's interesting to note that his income as Senator is about 15% of his book income and an almost negligible percentage of the total income of him and his wife. So being a Senator per se doesn't amount to much, but publishing highly successful books is obviously a nice way of making a living, and it's unlikely he could have gotten the books this popular without being Senator.
If i were him I would certainly pay down my mortgage on that expensive house, because his extremely high income earning years won't last too much longer. He will either become President or slip back into obscurity, and neither President nor obscurity are likely to make him much money compared to what he has now.
He might even take a pay cut as President since it seems unlikely his wife will continue working, and the total of his and his wife's salary is actually greater than his Presidential salary.
Of course then his child care expenses will probably be folded somewhere in the Federal budget.
D
Posted by: David H Dennis | Mar 25, 2008 1:59:53 PM
Of course converatives give more. Conservatives are nicer, more compassionate people than leftists (please NEVER call them 'liberals').
Then again, conservatives are more productive than leftists.
Conservatives are happier than leftists.
and lastly, right-wing people are better looking than leftists (superb picture included).
That is why, left-wing hate towards right-wing people is always heavily laden with jealousy, and hence the obsession with taxing them. Right-wing people, however, have no such jealousy vs, leftists (why would they, based on the facts above)?
Posted by: GK | Mar 25, 2008 2:02:15 PM
"He will either become President or slip back into obscurity, and neither President nor obscurity are likely to make him much money compared to what he has now."
I don't think so. Al Gore became a centimillionaire, soon to be a billionaire, after Jan '01 simply by exploiting the sympathy that Bush-haters have for him. Obama will do the same. Obama will earn $30,000 a pop for speeches, which he will make for decades to come.
Posted by: GK | Mar 25, 2008 2:06:36 PM
Because when there's a tax break, everyone who qualifies gets to claim it. Got kids? Congratulations, here's your deduction.
Americans generally aren't into shafting rich people for being rich because we all hope to be rich someday.
Posted by: rosignol | Mar 25, 2008 2:07:34 PM
Yeah, GK, one thing that your comment makes crystal clear is that left-wing people really hate right-wing people, and spend lots of time and effort thinking up bad things about right-wing people.
Posted by: neil | Mar 25, 2008 2:15:54 PM
Jeepers. I gave more than he did from 2000-2004 and I don't make a third of what he did at the time.
Posted by: Doug Stewart | Mar 25, 2008 2:34:39 PM
The tax return itself answers the question of where the jump came from: business income as an author. In 2006, the Obamas earned about $400K in wages. The rest comes from business income as a best-selling author.
Posted by: ADB | Mar 25, 2008 2:38:52 PM
"Yeah, GK, one thing that your comment makes crystal clear is that left-wing people really hate right-wing people, and spend lots of time and effort thinking up bad things about right-wing people."
Indeed, it is a well-known fact. Just look at how negative the left-wing blogs are.
It is predictable that the lesser group in income, happiness, AND physical appearance would behave that way.
Posted by: GK | Mar 25, 2008 2:48:41 PM
I'm glad you acknowledged "it is possible that the Obamas may have made gifts to other worthy causes that were not deductible for federal income tax purposes.)"
Also, keep in mind that some people don't seek deductions for every penny donated. I don't take deductions at all for charitable donations I make. That's because I don't give to get something back. However, I don't pass judgment on people who do. That's their business.
Posted by: Munir Umrani | Mar 25, 2008 2:56:39 PM
I don't understand how his Real Estate taxes on Schedule A fluctuated so much from one year to the next. One year (2004 or 2005) reports nothing for real estate taxes.
Can someone help me with this one?
Posted by: Chicago Real Estate Taxes | Mar 25, 2008 3:02:58 PM
I guess they couldn't give more to charity because they were still paying off their student loans.
Posted by: JaimeRoberto | Mar 25, 2008 3:31:50 PM
Is it possible that those years that they gave so little they were being hit by the alternative minimum tax, and therefore saw no reason to figure out how much they were giving to charity?
Or, maybe since they were taking their ivy league educations and working way beneath their earning potentials for the public good, they didn't make charitable giving a priorty.
Posted by: Kerry | Mar 25, 2008 3:32:31 PM
Obama, stop crying, how many times did Hillary tell you after April 15th, just sit back and wait.
Posted by: mary | Mar 25, 2008 3:35:25 PM
As I do the taxes in my household, the big thing that leaps out at me is the dearth of Schedule B filings. Perhaps they have their nest-egg savings in munis, but perhaps 2000-2004 the Obamas were spending every dime they made, explaining Michelle Obama's complaint about making ends meet. If they gave below average amounts for their income to charity, perhaps they didn't have any spare money to give.
You would think someone in, what is it, the top 1 or 2 percent of AGI could put some money aside in interest-bearing savings, but it is easy to spend every dollar that you make up to very high income levels if you are not frugal and watch expenses.
I say the absence of Schedule B filings says volumes about who they are, the demands on their spending given their public roles, perhaps their idea of who is rich and who is poor in America. It is just a little scary that someone in public life in the top 1-2 percent of household AGI considered themselves to be poor.
Posted by: Paul Milenkovic | Mar 25, 2008 3:37:32 PM
Unsurprising, really. I venture to guess that many (if not most) of the 100 US senators earn over 1 million a year. The difference is that Obama is making that by writing book, rather than family inheritance or shady "consultancy" contracts.
Regarding donations: for a young person with 2 children to support it seems enough. Also, one often drops cash anonymously in the church collection box, without expecting tax returns (or publicity) for it.
Posted by: Cool head | Mar 25, 2008 3:43:56 PM
Why no AMT??????? My taxes where almost identical to Mr. O'bama's for the 200-2002 tax years and I paid $4-5,000 in AMT every year.
Posted by: jdbluegrass | Mar 25, 2008 3:43:58 PM
When is McCain going to release his tax returns?
Posted by: jaymeister | Mar 25, 2008 3:45:01 PM
Funny how all of you sour souls will be crushed in Nov.
You should do some soul searching and open your eves to the future.
Don't waste time trying to find something wrong. Look for what is right!
You are missing the point....he released them for you to see.
Bad or good, he did it! If you think that is nothing, then put yours up on display for all America to see.
Posted by: D. Williams | Mar 25, 2008 4:01:00 PM
Giving under the Biblical cloak of "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth when thou givest alms. ..." many religious people do not list chartable gifts at all. Nor do we count collection plates in church, the cash to the Salvation Army ladies and so on. Don't be too quick to judge this guy on this subject.
Posted by: Howard Veit | Mar 25, 2008 4:01:16 PM
Might be no mystery...I pay two years of property tax in a given year and itemize in that year, while taking the standard deduction in the next.
Posted by: George | Mar 25, 2008 4:04:09 PM
Here's the 2000-2006 Obama numbers compared with the Bush charity numbers for the same period:
http://rhog.blogspot.com/2008/03/saint-barack-stingy.html
Posted by: Andy | Mar 25, 2008 4:05:14 PM
GK wrote: "Also, keep in mind that some people don't seek deductions for every penny donated. I don't take deductions at all for charitable donations I make. That's because I don't give to get something back."
When you claim a deduction on something you donated, you're not "asking for something back." You're simply asking for a third party (the government) not to tax you on income you passed along to a charity. If you don't claim an eligible deduction on a charitable contribution, you're actually making two charitible contributions: one to the 501(c)3 of your choice, and the other to Uncle Sam. If you really like the government, agree with all of its policies, and unequivocally support the ways it spends your money, I suppose donating extra to Uncle Sam each year would be understandable.
"That's their business."
And it would be bad personal business, if your assumption of Obama choosing not to claim eligible deductions is true. Since the candidates are asking us to elect to them manage an entire country, a critical review of how they managed their personal finances is not unreasonable.
Posted by: 00stephen | Mar 25, 2008 4:07:50 PM
That was not GK who wrote that.
Posted by: GK | Mar 25, 2008 4:21:30 PM
IMHO this is all private material that I really have no interest in. I don't care about the candidates' tax returns. If they are being bribed, it won't show up in their taxes anyway.
Posted by: Paul | Mar 25, 2008 4:37:24 PM
2000 to 2004: SAVING UP TO BUY THAT BIG HOUSE!
Posted by: Kevin | Mar 25, 2008 5:00:43 PM
Cool Head: 4-5k? try 20+
Someone else please check (the IRS site has historical forms 6251), but a ballpark run-through for AMT in 2005 and 2006 is illuminating. 2005 is in the clear ($463,722 Tentative Minimum Tax versus $513,456 regular tax). 2006, however, looks like a major foulup. Regular tax is 262,687, but Tentative Minimum Tax comes to $284,350.
The exact numbers might differ some, but it would appear there's $21,663 in unpaid AMT for 2006.
Have at it, Hillaryites...
Posted by: Form6251 | Mar 25, 2008 5:33:17 PM
This proves my theory perfectly! I knew I was right about this!
Posted by: telecom | Mar 25, 2008 5:37:20 PM
What should really be investigated is his wife's salary? From the returns, it looks like it really jumps when he becomes a US Senator. She was only making in the low 100s before and then it jumps to the 200s and 300s after he became a US Senator. Coincidence?
Posted by: anon | Mar 25, 2008 5:51:35 PM
Apparently no gifts to Princeton. None to Harvard. Nothing to Columbia. Or Punahou. All those great schools that provided their outstanding educations didn't merit some contributions?
This is in keeping with the entire generation. The percentage contribution levels of graduates of the "elite" schools for the past 20 years or so is far less than in the past.
Memo to America: The Obamas are Big Time Yuppies.
Posted by: David | Mar 25, 2008 5:52:32 PM
Look, I'm not voting for Obama, but let's be reasonable here. It's not that damning that he didn't give much money to charity when he was only making $200,000. He had to maintain two homes--one in Chicago, and one in DC. Those are expensive markets, and he was probably hurting for cash. It's not like he's a trust fund kid.
Also, keep in mind that (1) when he started making more money, his charitable contributions went up, and (2) he already devoted his life to public service. We shouldn't pay politicians crap AND expect for them to donate some of that pay back to charities.
Posted by: kjhkjh | Mar 25, 2008 6:06:43 PM
Who cares? This is such meaningless information.
Keep watching the ball guys...don't pay attention to what's really going on.
I hate how petty and twisted politics have become, go back to your caves.
Posted by: Phil | Mar 25, 2008 6:38:52 PM
evading 20 grand in taxes isn't meaningless to most folk.
Posted by: Form6251 | Mar 25, 2008 10:59:38 PM
Yes...he is just like us. Not! I work my but off and make 74K a year. Yet he pretends that he knows how hard it is for Americans to make it. Not on those salaries. My 74k is enough to pay my bills, period. If he wanted to really make it easier then about 6K of yearly tax relief would make life a lot easier. Lower our taxes!
Posted by: Editor | Mar 26, 2008 7:37:24 AM
