Joe Biden released his and running mate Kamala Harris’ latest tax returns on Tuesday, ahead of the first presidential debate, and after a report President Donald Trump only paid $750 in taxes for 2016 and 2017.
Biden’s taxes showed that he and his wife Jill paid more than $346,204 in federal taxes and other payments for 2019 on an income of $944,737 before seeking a refund of nearly $47,000, giving them a total tax bill for the year of $299,346.
The 2019 tax returns for Biden’s running mate Senator Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, a lawyer who has taken leave from his position as a partner with the firm DLA Piper, were also released.
The couple paid $754,809 on an income of $3,018,127.
Trump’s taxes are expected to come up in Tuesday night’s presidential debate. Biden is likely to hit the president on the issue.
In the lead up to the debate, Biden has characterized the race as a clash between Scranton, the working-class city where he was born, and Park Avenue, where Trump made his name.
Joe Biden released his and running mate Kamala Harris’ latest tax returns ahead of debate with records showing he and wife Jill paid more than $346,000 in federal taxes and other payments for 2019 on an income of nearly $985,000 before seeking a refund of nearly $47,000.
Senator Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, a lawyer who has taken leave from his position as a partner with the firm DLA Piper paid $754,809 on an income of $3,018,127
‘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,’ Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, said on a call with reporters.
‘Mr. President, release your tax returns or shut up,’ she added.
Biden has now released 22 years of tax returns while Harris has released 19 years.
On his returns, Biden lists his occupation an ‘executive’ while Jill Biden lists herself as a ‘teacher.’
Meanwhile, the release offers a look into the financial holdings of Harris’ millionaire husband. Emhoff is a partner at one of the top law firms in the country.
The vast majority of Emhoff’s earnings came from the law firm DLA Piper, where he ran the firm’s California office.
The litigator pulled in $2.7 million from the firm in 2019. He joined the firm two years earlier. He also earned $115,000 from Venable LLP, his prior firm. He took a leave from the firm in August.
Under many partnership agreements, partners may continue earning payments for years after they leave the firm for work done on behalf of clients.
He earned $171,000 from countries outside the U.S. – an issue that poses a potential conflict, as President Trump learned amid reporting on his extensive overseas holdings including hotel properties. DLA Piper has a raft of foreign clients.
Emhoff also disclosed on his K-1 form a meager $160 in earnings from the Estherville Hotel Group.
The release offers a look into the financial holdings of Kamala Harris’ millionaire husband Doug Emhoff (above), a partner at one of the top law firms in the country
President Donald Trump has repeatedly – in defiance of political tradition – refused to release his tax returns
The financial details from the Democratic ticket came as President Trump has repeatedly – in defiance of political tradition – refused to release his tax returns, saying he is under an IRS audit.
A bombshell report in the New York Times on Sunday revealed the president, who says he is a billionaire, paid an astonishly low number in taxes and, in some years, paid none at all.
Documents show the president paid no income tax in 11 of the 18 years studied, according to a report by the paper. He was able to minimize his tax bill by reporting heavy losses across his business empire, including at his golf courses.
That’s despite receiving $427.4 million through 2018 from his reality television program and other endorsement deals. The president could also face mounting financial pressure in the years ahead. The tax records show he’s carrying a total of $421 million in loans and debt that are primarily due within four years.
Trump, in response, said he has paid millions in taxes but has released no documentation to back up his claims.
After the report dropped the Biden campaign was quick to rush out an ad showing the average American pays $12,199 in yearly taxes.