Biden brings back presidential tradition to White House, releases tax returns

In a shift from Trump-era traditions, US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on Monday released their tax returns from 2020, which showed a combined earning of a little over $600,000.

To fulfil the expectation of being transparent with the people of America, Presidents have released their annual tax returns for the public eye as a custom that along with the position of Commander-in-Chief. However, former President Donald Trump broke the tradition during his term.

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The current occupants of the White House, Joe and Jill Biden, reported $607,336 in federal adjusted gross income. The First Lady continues to work as a professor at Northern Virginia Community College, according to the White House website.

They paid $157,414 in federal income tax, an effective rate of 25.9%. They also paid $28,794 income tax to their home state, Delaware, reported AFP.

Biden’s number two, Vice President Kamala Harris, is several rungs above him on the financial ladder.

The former California senator released a joint tax return with her lawyer husband Doug Emhoff reporting federal adjusted gross income of $1,695,225.

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According to reports from AFP, they paid $621,893 in federal income tax, amounting to a rate of 36.7%. They also paid $125,004 in California income tax and Emhoff paid $56,997 in Washington, DC.

Emhoff was a high-profile entertainment industry lawyer and took a leave of absence from his firm when Harris was named Biden’s running mate.