WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden released tax returns on April 15 that showed their income rose 7 per cent to US$619,976 (S$847,000) in 2023 and that the couple paid 23.7 per cent of their income in federal taxes.
Mr Biden released the data on the day US taxes for the prior year were due, and as the Democrat seeks re-election in 2024.
Donald Trump, his Republican opponent, broke with the tradition of presidents making their federal tax returns public, saying he was not able to do so while being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, even as the agency said he was free to release them.
A US House of Representatives committee controlled in 2022 by Democrats released Trump’s redacted returns for 2015 to 2020 over his objections.
Trump was in a New York courtroom on April 15 for a historic criminal trial, one of several legal matters that has implicated the former president’s personal finances.
“President Biden believes that all occupants of the Oval Office should be open and honest with the American people and that the longstanding tradition of annually releasing presidential tax returns should continue unbroken,” the White House said in a statement.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a post on social media on April 15, Trump said American families benefited from tax cuts passed while he was in office.
He said if Mr Biden “gets his way” people would be facing “colossal” tax increases. He included no information about his 2023 tax filing.
Mr Biden and his wife earned four-fifths of their income from their jobs as US president and teacher at Northern Virginia Community College, respectively.
He drew a US$400,000 wage, while Mrs Biden earned US$85,985 from her job teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College.
The additional income was drawn from interest on investments, pensions and a corporate entity that collects the couple’s book royalties.
Most of the increase in income relative to 2022 was from interest paid on one of the couple’s bank accounts, according to the tax return.
The proportion of Joe Biden’s income that went to federal taxes was roughly equal to the prior year.
Mr Biden plans to deliver a speech on tax policy from his Scranton, Pennsylvania, birthplace on April 16 that is expected to include a call for the wealthy to pay higher rates.
Pennsylvania is expected to be one of the most closely contested 2024 election states in November.
Mr Biden’s return also showed that he donated US$20,477 to charity, roughly 3.3 per cent of their income, with the beneficiaries including several churches and public health groups such as the Epilepsy Foundation and Fraternal Order of Police.
Mr Biden’s running mate, Vice-President Kamala Harris, and her husband, Mr Douglas Emhoff, also released a tax return, which showed US$450,380 income for 2023, federal taxes of US$88,570 and charitable donations of US$23,026. REUTERS
