US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk aboard Marine One for a trip to Virginia from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, US, January 23, 2024.
Leah Millis | Reuters
President Joe Biden and his wife Jill on Monday released tax returns showing their income increased 7% to $619,976 in 2023 and the couple paid 23.7% of their income in federal taxes.
Biden released data on the day US taxes were due for the past year, and as a Democrat seeking re-election in 2024.
Donald Trumphis Republican opponent, broke with the tradition of presidents making their federal tax returns public, saying he failed to do so while being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, even though the agency said he was free to release them .
A committee of the US House of Representatives controlled in 2022 by Democrats released Trump’s redacted returns for 2015 to 2020 over the objections of the former president.
Trump was in a New York courtroom on Monday for a historical criminal trialone of several legal matters involving the former president’s personal finances.
“President Biden believes that everyone who occupies the Oval Office should be open and honest with the American people, and that the long-standing tradition of the annual release of presidential tax returns should continue without interruption,” 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 Monday, Trump said American families have benefited from tax cuts passed while he was in office. He said if Biden “gets his way” people will face “huge” tax increases. He did not include information about his 2023 tax filing.
Biden and his wife earned four-fifths of their income from their jobs as US president and teacher at Northern Virginia Community College, respectively. Joe Biden earned $400,000 in wages, while Jill Biden earned $85,985 from her job teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College.
Additional income is derived from interest on investments, pensions and a corporate entity that collects the couple’s book royalties. Much of the increase in income in relation to 2022 is from interest paid into 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 about the same as last year.
Biden plans to deliver a speech on tax policy from his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday 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.
The president’s return also showed that Biden donated $20,477 to charity, about 3.3% of their income, with beneficiaries including several churches and public health groups such as the Epilepsy Foundation and the Fraternal Order. of Police.
Biden’s running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, also released a tax return showing $450,380 in income for 2023, federal taxes of $88,570 and charitable donations of $23,026.
