Politics - News Analysis

Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff Earned Over Twice as Much as Joe and Jill Biden in 2021, Tax Returns Show

Financially it appears 2021 was a good year for Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. Enough so that they even made more than President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, Newsweek reports. Harris and Emhoff made just over $1.65 million combined and paid roughly $523,000 in federal income taxes. The Bidens earned $611,000 combined and paid about $150,000 in federal income taxes.

The White House released the tax returns of the Bidens and Harris and Emhoff on Friday. The president and first lady reported paid income taxes in Delaware and Washington, D.C. while Harris and Emhoff reported paid their income taxes in California, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have released their tax returns over many years of public life. Donald Trump never released his tax returns. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The White House is also reporting that as of 2022 Biden has released a total of 24 years of tax returns, while Harris has released a total of 18 years of her returns.

That’s definitely a sharp contrast to a certain former occupant of the White House, who petulantly refused to release his returns. His taxes and finances have been a major focus of legal battles for years, Newsweek reports.

Also unlike Trump who’s had legal difficulties in this area as well, the Bidens reported $17,000 in contributions to 10 different charities, the largest being the Beau Biden Foundation. Harris and Emhoff reported $22,000 in charitable donations, per the White House.

Recently-released tax returns reveal that Vice President Kamala Harris (right) and her husband, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff (left), earned more than double what President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden earned in 2020. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In 2016 and 2017 the Bidens reported $1.5 million and $3.7 million in federal income taxes respectively. That’s quite a contrast to Trump’s tax returns for those years. Those records were only made public after they were obtained by The New York Times, which found he paid only $750 in federal income tax in 2017 and 2016. And virtually no income taxes paid in 10 out of 15 years before that.

And of course, Trump and his lawyers fought this. claiming he paid “tens of millions” in taxes during this time, without ever providing the former president’s tax returns to verify this. The Times reported at the time that Trump’s businesses, especially his golf courses, reported significant losses, and this supposedly helped offset the higher taxes he would have otherwise had to pay.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at an event at the White House, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in Washington. Photo by Patrick Semansky/AP

Trump’s low taxes became a favorite topic for Biden during the 2020 presidential election, and his campaign aired ads contrasting what Trump paid in taxes to everyday middle-class Americans and sold bumper stickers that said “I paid more in taxes than Donald Trump.”

“With this release, the president has shared a total of 24 years of tax returns with the American public, once again demonstrating his commitment to being transparent with the American people about the finances of the commander-in-chief,” the White House said in its press release Friday.

It’s kind of nice not hearing about Trump and his financial and legal woes, isn’t it?

meet the author

Megan has lived in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida and she currently lives in Central America. Living in these places has informed her writing on politics, science, and history. She is currently owned by 15 cats and 3 dogs and regularly owns Trump supporters when she has the opportunity. She can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GaiaLibra and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/politicalsaurus

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