 "Bidens reveal their taxes, Trump does not. Why it matters ahead of 2024 presidential elections")
It was tax day in the US. Thousands of Americans rushed to file their tax returns before the 15 April deadline. Among them were United States president Joe Biden and First Lady Dr Jill Biden. On Monday, they publicly released their 2023 financial details.
The release of the tax returns ahead of the 2024 US presidential elections is seen as a strategic move. Not only can Joe Biden use it to press on how different his tax policy is from the Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, but he can also use it to attack his rival on various related issues.
Here’s a look at what the Bidens’ tax returns reveal and how they could be used as a strong weapon in the incumbent US president’s campaign for a second term.
How much taxes did the Bidens pay?
The Bidens filed their taxes jointly. The couple declared that they earned $619,976 in 2023. A large chunk of this amount came from Joe Biden’s $400,000 salary and Dr Jill Biden’s $85,985 compensation for her teaching job at a college in Virginia. Their income has gone up 6.5 per cent from $579,514 in 2022.
In 2023, the Bidens paid $146,629 in federal taxes- a rate of 23.7 per cent on their income.
Additionally, the president also paid $30,908 in income taxes to the state of Delaware. The first lady paid $3,549 in Virginia income taxes. The Bidens also reported charitable donations worth $20,477.
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More ShortsWhat about Donald Trump’s tax returns?
Trump has refused both as a candidate and once in office to allow the public to see his tax return, a document detailing all sources and amounts of income, among other financial records, reports AFP.
In 2015, Trump declared as part of his candidacy, “I’m really rich.” The former president has argued that voters have no need to see his tax data and that past financial disclosures are more than sufficient.
Billionaire businessman’s tax returns for several years were made public after a legal battle waged by Democrats, It was revealed that Trump paid just $750 in taxes in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, he paid $1 million in income taxes. In 2019, he paid $133,445 in income taxes. In 2020, he paid no taxes at all, citing business losses.
Is it compulsory for politicians to publicly release their taxes?
Politicians in the US are not legally required to publicly release their tax returns. The Bidens’ public release of tax returns has highlighted at least two major differences in how the incumbent president and his predecessor Trump have dealt with their tax returns.
The Bidens have publicly released their 2023 tax returns in line with an unwritten tradition of transparency that the White House has long followed. This custom, aimed at building trust in the country’s leadership, was disrupted under Trump.
Another difference is the amount of taxes the Bidens and Trump have paid. In the past couple of years, Jill and Joe Biden have paid over 20 per cent of their income in taxes. In comparison, Trump’s tax payments have been rather small every year (except 2018).
How Joe Biden can turn the tax returns to his advantage
Ahead of the 2024 US presidential elections, slated for November, the Bidens are using the release of their tax returns as a powerful tool against Trump.
1. Lack of transparency: A White House statement about the Bidens’ tax returns took a jab at Trump and his lack of transparency regarding his income and taxes. The statement said that President Biden believes that “all occupants of the Oval Office should be open and honest with the American people”. “The longstanding tradition of annually releasing presidential tax returns should continue unbroken,” it added.
2. Revealing a “people-friendly” tax policy : Close on the heels of the statement, came another release from the White House. This one, titled “This Tax Day, the Tax Contrast Couldn’t Be Clearer,” highlighted the differences between President Biden’s and Trump’s taxation policies. The release said that Joe Biden plans to crack down on tax avoidance by large multinationals and billionaires – another not-so-subtle jab at Trump and his ilk.
The release also added that the president wants to make corporations follow a tax rate of 28 per cent and tax billionaires a minimum of 25 per cent. It also hit out at the “extreme Republican budget” which proposes $5.5 trillion in tax cuts that are “skewed to the wealthy and big corporations”. Trump has maintained that tax cuts for corporations would prompt greater investment in the economy.
3. The base for attacking Trump’s foreign accounts: Joe Biden’s push for transparency around tax returns and income sources once again sets the stage for his attack on Trump’s foreign accounts, especially those in China. Trump reportedly paid $200,000 in taxes to China. The existence of this account first came to light in a report by The New York Times. Biden had attacked Trump regarding this in the 2020 presidential debate, too.
The Bidens’ public release of their tax returns accords greater legitimacy to these attacks, clearly distinguishing them from Trump.
Taxes, the economy, and inflation in the US are all crucial issues that matter to voters. How convincing Trump and Biden are on these topics is likely to play a key role in the upcoming polls.
With inputs from agencies
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