04-13-2012, 11:04 AM
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Obamas Paid 20.5% in Income Taxes, 2011 Returns Show
Obamas Paid 20.5% in Income Taxes, 2011 Returns Show
Quote:
WASHINGTON — President Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported adjusted gross income of $789,674 in 2011 and paid just over 20 percent of it to the federal government in taxes.
Their income declined nearly $1 million from the previous year, when the president was reaping larger amounts from sales of his bestselling books. The numbers were disclosed in the Obamas’ federal income tax return and gift-tax return, released Friday by the White House, along with those of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Obama paid $162,074 in income taxes, an effective tax rate of 20.5 percent. In a statement, the White House suggested that Mr. Obama believed that he should pay a higher rate, noting that his administration wants to reform the tax code and ask “the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share while protecting families making under $250,000.” Mr. Biden and his wife, Jill, reported adjusted gross income of $379,035 and paid $87,900 in federal tax, an effective tax rate of 23 percent. That is roughly the same as what the couple reported last year.
The annual release of tax returns by Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden was more politically charged than in previous years, with the Obama campaign assaulting the likely Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, for his refusal to disclose more on his taxes.
The Obama campaign has also drawn attention to the even lower tax rates paid by Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, who derive much of their income from interest on investments, which are taxed at a lower rate than wage income. Mr. Romney has not yet released his return for 2011, though he disclosed his estimated tax payment for the year in January.
In the 547 pages of tax documents released by Mr. Romney, he and his wife were expected to pay roughly $6.2 million on $42.5 million of income over 2010 and 2011, with effective tax rates of 13.9 percent in 2010 and an estimated 15.4 percent in 2011.
Mr. Obama still earned about half his total income from sales of his books in 2011, the White House said in a statement. But that is sharply lower than in 2010, when the Obamas reported adjusted gross income of $1,728,096, and paid $453,770 in federal taxes — an effective tax rate of just over 26 percent.
The Obamas also reported donating $172,130 – or about 22% of their adjusted gross income – to 39 different charities. Their largest donation was a $117,130 contribution to the Fisher House Foundation. Mr. Obama is donating the after-tax proceeds from his children’s book to Fisher House, a scholarship fund for children of fallen and disabled soldiers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/14/us...ors_picks=true
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The Fisher House Foundation sounds like a worthy cause.. 
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