Biden, Harris Release 2019 Tax Returns Hours Before The First Debate
Two days after The New York Times published reporting on several years of President Trump's recent tax returns, Democratic nominee Joe Biden released his 2019 return and financial disclosures.
Biden's 2019 tax return shows taxable income of $944,737 and a federal tax bill of $299,346. His 2019 financial disclosure shows about $250,000 in income from book deals, speeches and the University of Pennsylvania, where he's a professor. The disclosure shows less than $100,000 in debt.
Biden released the return and disclosure just hours before the first presidential debate, where Trump is expected to face questions over his tax returns. In a call with reporters today, the Biden campaign said the former vice president has now released 22 years of tax returns.
Biden's running mate, Kamala Harris, and her husband, Doug Emhoff, also released their 2019 tax return and financial disclosure today, marking 15 years of Harris' returns now available to the public. Harris and Emhoff reported $3,018,127 in taxable income and paid $1,185,628 in taxes.
Trump has notably refused to release his tax returns, breaking precedent that decades of major party presidential nominees have followed. The president has said he will release his tax returns when he's no longer under audit, though an audit does not prevent the president from releasing his records.
The New York Times reports that Trump's tax returns show millions in losses and that Trump only paid $750 in income tax in 2016 and 2017, and in 10 of the last 15 years paid no income tax at all. It also raised questions about questionable tax deductions made by Trump that could run afoul of tax law. The president called the reporting "fake news" during a Sunday news conference.
Biden will likely raise the revelations about the president's taxes during the debate tonight.
"Donald Trump thinks that the vast majority of hardworking Americans who pay their taxes are suckers," Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield told reporters today. "President Trump only sees the world from Park Avenue. He looks out for the stock market, but looks down on workers and middle class families struggling to get by." [Copyright 2020 NPR]
