Sanders' Tax Returns Show Charitable Giving, Comparatively Modest Income

By Toby Eckert and Hanna Trudo, Politico

16 April 16

emocratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders released his 2014 tax returns Friday night, showing that he paid $27,653 in federal taxes on adjusted gross income of $205,271.

The Vermont senator pledged to release the filings during the Democratic debate on Thursday night after sparring with Hillary Clinton over financial disclosure issues.

The majority of Sanders’ earnings came from his $174,000 salary as a U.S. senator, as well as Social Security benefits.

The returns, filed jointly with his wife, Jane, were just as “boring” and straightforward as Sanders repeatedly said they would be, particularly compared to those of Hillary Clinton, his multi-millionaire opponent for the nomination.

After tax payments of $31,825, Sanders collected a $4,172 refund. They donated $8,350 to charity.

Last summer, Clinton’s campaign made public eight years of tax returns — from 2007 to 2014. They showed that she and Bill Clinton made almost $28 million in 2014 and paid about $10 million, or 36 percent, in federal taxes.

The Clintons gave just over $3 million to charity in 2014, about 11 percent of their overall income. Almost all of it went to a family foundation that doles out money to other charities and is separate from the global Clinton Foundation.

On the Republican side, Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich have released portions of their tax returns. Donald Trump has refused to release his tax information, claiming he can’t because he is being audited.