US: Biden and Harris publish tax return policy

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have published their tax returns. Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden earned more than US $ 600,000 (around EUR 500,000) last year. The White House said the couple paid a nice $ 157,000 federal income tax and an additional $ 29,000 in their home state of Delaware. In 2019, the Biden couple reportedly had a decent income of $ 985,000.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Amhoff reported an income of $ 1.7 million in 2020, on which they paid a total of approximately $ 800,000 in taxes. For Bidens, the former senator and her lawyer husband’s income was significantly lower in the election year than in 2019: at the time, the two had a total income of just under $ 3.3 million.

Biden and Harris won against then-President Donald Trump in the election held last November. You have been in office since 20 January. With the publication of tax returns you follow political customs in the United States. Entering the political side, Trump, who made his fortune primarily through real estate transactions, had always refused to accept the tradition as president and to keep his tax payments secret in court. The last battle was fought in. Vice President Mike Pence also did not publish any tax returns during his tenure.

Biden wants to raise income tax for top earners – which will also affect themselves

According to US media reports, Republicans are said to have paid hardly any income tax to the federal government for years. new York Times Told that Trump paid only $ 750 in income tax in 2016 and 2017. Trump dismissed the report across the board at the time, but also pointed out that he owes other taxes in the millions.

The New York Public Prosecutor’s Office is likely to gain insight into or already have knowledge of Trump’s tax files due to the ongoing investigation and the Supreme Court’s same ruling. However, publication of documents seems impossible.

Democrat Biden wants to increase the income tax for the top earners – which will also affect them. Biden intends to use the proceeds to finance large investments in infrastructure and social benefits. Whether he can win congressional approval for this is uncertain, as he will have to rely on a number of Republican dissidents in the Senate.