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http://www.indonesiamedia.com/2010/04/16/obamas-5-5-million-income-1-8-million-tax-bill/Sastr
Obamas: $5.5 million income, $1.8 million tax bill
WASHINGTON – Thanks to revived book sales after he became president, Barack
Obama and his wife, Michelle, made $5.5 million last year. They paid about
one-third of it in federal income taxes.
The Obamas gave $329,100 to charities in 2009. The president, who
released his tax returns Thursday, also donated his entire $1.4 million Nobel
Peace Prize award to 10 charitable groups. He never received the $1.4 million,
and it was not included in his 2009 income.
Obama, a former law school instructor and U.S. senator, became a
millionaire a few years ago through sales of his 1995 memoir “Dreams
>From My Father” and his 2006 political book, “The Audacity of Hope.” He
earned about $4 million in royalties in 2007, the year he launched his
presidential campaign.
Sales included his audio versions of the books, for which Obama won
two Grammy awards in the spoken-word category.
Sales dropped somewhat in 2008, the year he was elected president,
although his books still netted him about $2.5 million.
Obama’s January inauguration as the nation’s first black president
seemed to revive interest in his books. Royalties in 2009 more than
doubled the previous year’s amount.
Obama is paid $400,000 a year as president, although he received
$374,460 last year because he took office on Jan. 20.
The Obamas paid nearly $1.8 million in federal income tax last year, and
$163,303 in Illinois income tax. Among their charitable gifts were $50,000
each to CARE and the United Negro College Fund.
Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, had far more modest
earnings. They reported an adjusted gross income of $333,182 for 2009.
They paid $71,147 in federal income taxes, $12,420 in Delaware income
taxes and $1,477 in Virginia income taxes, where Jill Biden works as a
college professor.
The Bidens gave $4,820 to charity, in cash and in-kind donations.
The Obamas claimed $514,819 in federal itemized deductions. They
included the state income taxes, the $329,100 for charity, $52,195 in
home mortgage interest payments, and $22,456 in real estate taxes.
Of their taxable income of $4,980,858, everything above $372,950 was taxed at
the top marginal rate of 35 percent. Obama wants to increase
the two highest marginal rates, restoring the top rate of 39.6 percent
that was in effect under former President Bill Clinton.
Had those rates been in effect last year, the Obamas’ federal income tax bill
would have increased by more than $200,000.
The president reported paying $471,022 in commissions and fees for
his book sales, mainly to his agents and promoters, the White House
said. Otherwise he reported fairly modest offsets to his $5 million in
book profits: $15,722 in legal and professional fees, and $866 in
office expenses.
The Obamas reported selling 9,472 shares in the Bank of Hawaii, for a loss of
$125,879. They sold the shares for $355,029, but they
reportedly were worth $480,908 when the family inherited them more than a year
earlier.
The Bidens’ largest itemized deduction was $30,349 for home mortgage interest
payments. They reported relatively modest interest income,
including $12 from the U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union.
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