Sanders Releases 10 Years Of Tax Returns Showing Income Bump From Campaign Book
BETHLEHEM, Pa. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., released 10 years of tax returns Monday evening, showing the majority of his income came from his U.S. Senate salary until 2016, when his income jumped with the publication of a book on his first presidential run.
His total income popped to over $1 million in 2016 and 2017, after he wrote Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In in November 2016, raising his effective tax rate for those years to over 30 percent.
I consider paying more in taxes as my income rose to be both an obligation and an investment in our country,” Sanders said in a statement released by his campaign. “I will continue to fight to make our tax system more progressive so that our country has the resources to guarantee the American Dream to all people.
His book debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at #3, and has sold approximately 227,000 copies, according to the industry tracker NPD BookScan. Two subsequent books, The Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution and Where Do We Go From Here: Two Years in the Resistance sold over 27,000 and 26,000 copies, respectively.
During his 2016 campaign, Sanders initially released just a summary of his 2014 tax returns, before releasing his full return later in the primary.
However, after several weeks without producing documents, questions continued to grow. Sanders then told reporters he would release them by tax day, April 15th.
Bernie Sanders’ Tax Return Has Some Odd Deductions
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. speaks during a campaign rally in… Erie, Pa., Tuesday, April 19, 2016.
Late on a Friday afternoon, Bernie Sanders finally released his tax returns. For the most part, they are “boring.” But as Jim Geraghty writing for NRO pointed out, there’s more than a little hypocrisy to be found in that “boring” 1040.
While Jim’s piece was very well-researched and exhaustive, there’s a few more nuggets I would add on. Besides doing tax writing and policy activism, I have owned my own tax preparation business in the Washington, D.C. area for the past dozen years and I’m an IRS “Enrolled Agent” .
So the nerdiness is strong here.
Below are three more weird parts of Bernie Sanders’ tax return:
Social Security benefits taxation
Bernie Sanders is, to put not too fine a point on it, old. As a result, he collects Social Security benefits. In 2014, he collected $46,213 in Social Security benefits. Because of his income level, 85 percent of this is taxable. So he’s following what the tax law calls for.
But Sanders has quite a strong position on Social Security. He is adamant that “the rich” pay their “fair share” into Social Security. Now, by that he means taxing all wages and self-employment profits with the Social Security payroll tax .
Business meals
Sanders also deducts $8946 in business meals. Most Americans don’t get to write off their lunch, but Sanders chose to.
Tax me more fund
Bernie Sanders Has Released Few Tax Returns Compared With Past And Present Candidates
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders took some heat from CNNs Jake Tapper during an . The topic: The degree of public transparency Sanders has provided for his tax returns.
Tapper brought up the topic: “Im kind of surprised that you havent gone further on transparency. You released the summary page of your 2014 tax returns. Hillary Clinton has posted on her website the last eight years of her personal returns, all of the returns. Before the New York primary, will you match her? Will you post your full returns for the last eight years?”
Sanders responded, “You know who does our tax returns? My wife does our tax returns. Weve been a little bit busy lately. So we will get out as much information as we can. There aint going to be very much exciting in that. I get a salary from the United States Senate, you know, theres not going to be anything new in it that people havent seen for the last many years, but we will get it out as soon as we can.”
Tapper wasnt satisfied. “But nobody has seen them at all, I guess, is the point, and whether or not theres anything exciting in them….”
At this point, Sanders interjected, “No, that is not true. That is not true. Of course, we have released them in the past. Our financial situation, to the best of my knowledge, has not changed very much, but we will get out all of that information as soon as we can.”
Heres a look at what their current archive of the 2016 candidates looks like:
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Here’s Why Bernie Sanders Should Still Release His Tax Returns
Bernie Sanders wont withdraw and wont endorse Hilary Clinton. He has promised to vote for the presumptive Democratic nominee and to campaign against Donald Trump. But for the time being, hes staying in the race, determined to boost his leverage within the Democratic Party.
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 23: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters in Manhattan.
I think thats fine. But why stop there? Sanders has a chance to do something really useful with his rump campaign: He can release his tax returns for 2015 and years before 2014.
A Sanders release would serve two ends. First, it would repair some of the damage that Sanders have done to the 40-year tradition of return disclosure. Second, it would add to the pressure on Donald Trump to make a similar release.
In a blog post a couple weeks ago, my colleague Ajay Gupta took issue with efforts to pressure Trump or any other candidate into disclosing tax returns. Ajay makes some interesting points, and Ill respond to them more completely in a future post. But for now, let me focus on what I take to be his central argument: that candidates have a right to expect fair and evenhanded application of the revenue laws, including laws protecting the privacy of individual tax returns.
I think thats a straw man — candidates already enjoy that protection. When they disclose their returns, they do so willingly, if often reluctantly. If they want to take a principled stand against disclosure, they are free to do so.
Bernie Sanders Says Hell Release Tax Returns
Senator Bernie Sanders, who faced criticism for not releasing his past tax returns, said he would release 10 years of returns.
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Taxes tax returns. Why havent you released them? When are you going to release them? Well, April 15 is coming, and we wanted to release 10 years of tax returns. April 15, 2019, will be the 10th year. So, I think you will see them. So, on the day in the very immediate future certainly before April 15 we release ours. I hope that Donald Trump will do exactly the same. We are going to release 10 years of our tax returns. And we hope that on that day, Donald Trump will do the same. Reporter: O.K. Except our not being a billionaire, not having investments in Saudi Arabia wherever he has investments all over the world. Mine will be a little bit more boring. Youre a millionaire, though. I wrote a best-selling book. If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.
I wrote a best-selling book, he said. If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.
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Bernie Sanders Released His Tax Returns Hes Part Of The 1%
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WASHINGTON Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, disclosed 10 years of tax returns on Monday, providing a more detailed look at his finances than what he offered when he ran for the White House in 2016.
The returns show that Mr. Sanderss earnings shot up after his first presidential bid, when he built up a vast national following. He and his wife, Jane OMeara Sanders, reported income that topped $1 million in 2016 and 2017, lifted by proceeds from his books.
The couple had an adjusted gross income of $561,293 in 2018, according to their most recent tax return. Mr. Sanders had about $393,000 in book income last year, and he and his wife reported giving nearly $19,000 to charity.
Their federal taxes came to $145,840, for an effective federal tax rate of 26 percent.
Mr. Sanderss higher income in recent years has created some political awkwardness for the senator, who in his 2016 presidential campaign frequently railed against millionaires and billionaires and their influence over the political process.
His income now puts him within the top 1 percent of taxpayers, according to data from the Internal Revenue Service.
transcript
Bernie Sanders Tax Returns Show Both Income And Tax Rate Jumped After Presidential Campaign Revealing Millionaire Status
Sanders made over $1 million in 2016 and 2017.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, a senator famous for his campaign against the unjust power of the richest 1%, released years of tax returns on Monday that showed he is now a millionaire himself.
Sanders reported an adjusted gross income of nearly $561,293 and paid $145,840, a 26% effective rate, in 2018, the documents show. In 2016 and 2017, Sanders reported earning $1.06 million and $1.13 million in adjusted gross income and paid at a 35% and 30% effective rate, respectively.
The effective rates and income both represent substantial increases from 2014, which was the last year of tax returns publicly released by the candidate, when he earned $205,271 and paid a 13.4% effective rate. Sanders has said in interviews that his recent increase in income is due to the success of his books: 2016’s “Our Revolution,” which came out after Donald Trump took the presidency and earned a spot on the Times’ bestseller list and 2018’s “Where We Go from Here: Two Years in the Resistance.”
Sanders reported earning over $850,000 as an author in 2017 and nearly $800,000 as an author in 2016.
His millionaire status, paired with decades of avid criticism of the millionaire and billionaire class, sets him up for scrutiny in a crowded field of Democrats running for the 2020 nomination.
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Sanders Earns Royalties From His Musical Album
Among his other royalty payments were $539.47 in 2017 and $2,520.60 in 2016 from Todd R. Lockwood Works for “We shall Overcome,” a folk album recorded in 1987 featuring then-Mayor Sanders and release on cassette tape.
The recording was reissued in 2014 and gained attention during Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. The album is available today as an MP3 download and on CD.
Sanders also receives about $5,000 a year in pension payments from the city of Burlington, where he served as mayor for eight years.
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Sanders Releases 10 Years Of Tax Returns 9 Months Before Caucuses & Primaries Begin
Voluntary disclosure follows nearly 30 years of annual financial disclosures Vermont senator urges President Trump to follow suit
Sen. Bernie Sanders today released 10 years of tax returns including his 2018 return. The release, nine months before the first votes are cast, recognizes the changing expectations that all candidates, not just nominees, should release their taxes.
The Sanders tax returns, which are straightforward and uncomplicated with few additional forms or deductions, are in addition to the financial disclosures that Sanders has released every year since 1991.
These tax returns show that our family has been fortunate. I am very grateful for that, as I grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck and I know the stress of economic insecurity. That is why I strive every day to ensure every American has the basic necessities of life, including a livable wage, decent housing, health care and retirement security. Sanders said. I consider paying more in taxes as my income rose to be both an obligation and an investment in our country. I will continue to fight to make our tax system more progressive so that our country has the resources to guarantee the American Dream to all people.
During his 2016 campaign, Sanders released what was then his most recent tax return , and promised to release additional years if he were the nominee as was standard practice at the time.
Some key details from Sanders tax returns include:
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Bernie Sanders Releases 10 Years Of Long
WASHINGTON Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday released 10 years of his long-anticipated tax returns as he campaigns for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
The returns provide a more detailed look at Sanders finances than when he ran for president in 2016. The release also confirms that Sanders income crossed the $1 million threshold in 2016 and 2017, though he reported less earnings in his most recent return.
His 2018 return reveals that he and his wife, Jane, earned more than $550,000, including $133,000 in income from his Senate salary and $391,000 in sales of his book, Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In. Sanders campaign said in a news release that he paid 26% effective tax rate in 2018.
During his first presidential bid, Sanders released just one year of his tax returns despite primary rival Hillary Clinton pushing him to follow her lead and release multiple years of tax information. He declined to do so, disclosing only his tax return for 2014. Tax transparency has been in the spotlight as Donald Trump bucks decades of presidential tradition by declining to show voters his tax filings and House Democrats seek to force him to turn them over.
Bernie Sanders Releases 10 Years Of Tax Returns After Weeks Of Delays
- Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday released 10 years’ worth of tax returns.
- Sanders and his wife, Jane, earned roughly $1.7 million over the past two years, according to their returns.
- Sanders had faced a lot of pressure to make his returns public and for weeks did not offer a timeline on when they’d be published.
- A number of other 2020 Democrats have also publicly shared their returns.
- President Donald Trump has been criticized since 2016 for not publishing his returns and still has not done so.
- Shortly after releasing his returns on Monday, Sanders took part in a Fox News town hall and called on Trump to release his returns. “The president watches your network a little bit, right? Hey President Trump, my wife and I just released 10 years please do the same,” Sanders said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday released 10 years’ worth of tax returns, making good on a pledge he made more than a month ago.
“These tax returns show that our family has been fortunate,” Sanders said in a statement. “I am very grateful for that, as I grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck and I know the stress of economic insecurity. That is why I strive every day to ensure every American has the basic necessities of life, including a livable wage, decent housing, health care and retirement security.”
Sanders and his wife, Jane, earned about $1.7 million over the past two years, according to their returns.
Here is Sanders’ adjusted gross income over the past decade:
- 2017: $1,131,925
The Hill
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Bernie Sanders Donates His Speaking Fees To Charity
Bernie Sanders received $4,050 for five appearances in 2016, with all of the money donated to charity. In 2015, the total was $3,885 for three appearances, again all donated to charity.
In 2014, three appearances earned Sanders $1,807.42, but only $850 went to charity. The filing shows Sanders kept money for two appearances $1,017.42 from the publisher of his book with the text of this marathon Senate floor speech in 2011.
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For 2017, he listed no payments for speaking engagements or other appearances.
Aki Soga is insights and engagement editor for the Burlington Free Press. Email him at [email protected], or chat with him on Twitter: @asoga.
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WASHINGTON Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday released 10 years of his long-anticipated tax returns as he campaigns for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
The returns provide a more detailed look at Sanders finances than when he ran for president in 2016. The release also confirms that Sanders income crossed the $1 million threshold in 2016 and 2017, though he reported less earnings in his most recent return.
His 2018 return reveals that he and his wife, Jane, earned more than $550,000, including $133,000 in income from his Senate salary and $391,000 in sales of his book, Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In. Sanders campaign said in a news release that he paid 26% effective tax rate in 2018.
During his first presidential bid, Sanders released just one year of his tax returns despite primary rival Hillary Clinton pushing him to follow her lead and release multiple years of tax information. He declined to do so, disclosing only his tax return for 2014. Tax transparency has been in the spotlight as Donald Trump bucks decades of presidential tradition by declining to show voters his tax filings and House Democrats seek to force him to turn them over.
During a Fox News Channel town hall on Monday, Sanders said that hed increased his income by publishing a book hes written two with campaign themes and that he wouldnt apologize for that. He also challenged Trump to release his tax returns.
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