Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill are releasing their 2019 tax returns, in the name of transparency, just hours before the first presidential debate.
On Tuesday, the Bidens released their taxes, which showed they reported $944,737 in taxable income in 2019 and paid $299,346 in income taxes — about a 31% tax rate.
They also reported making $14,700 in charitable contributions.
Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and her husband Doug Emhoff, released their 2019 tax returns, which showed they reported a taxable income of $3,018,127 in taxable income and paid $1,185,628 in income tax — a roughly 39% tax rate.
The majority of their income came from Emhoff’s partnership at law firm DLA Piper.
Additionally, they reported making $35, 390 in charitable contributions last year.
Biden deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, told reporters in a call, “This is a historic level of transparency meant to give the American people faith once again that their leaders will look out for them and not their own bottom lines.”
“Mr. President, release your tax returns or shut up,” she added.
The move comes hours before the first presidential debate between Biden and President Donald Trump and days after The New York Times reported that the president did not pay income taxes for 10 out of 15 years.
The Times also reported that Trump paid just $750 in income taxes in 2016 and 2017.
Trump has denied the story, “That is fake news. It’s totally fake news. Made up, fake.”
“Actually, I pay tax, and you will see that as soon as my tax returns, it’s under audit, it’s been under audit for a long time. The IRS does not treat me well. They treat me like the Tea Party… they don’t treat me well, they treat me very badly,” he added.
Democrats have seized on the story to bash Trump, progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) took to Twitter to call Trump a “walking scam.”
“Donald Trump has never cared for our country more than he cares for himself,” she said.
The Biden campaign has also seized on the report and is selling vinyl stickers that read, “I paid more income taxes than Donald Trump.” The campaign has also rolled out a new “Trump Tax Calculator” that helps users figure out if they paid more or less in income taxes than Trump.
