Biden releases 2019 tax return after report on Trump’s returns. How much did he pay?
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden released his 2019 tax return Tuesday — days after The New York Times published a report on decades of President Donald Trump’s returns.
Biden’s return shows he and his wife paid $299,346 in federal income taxes in 2019.
The Times report shows Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he was elected president and his first year in office. In 10 of the past 15 years starting in 2000, the report found he paid nothing. The Times article did not include records of Trump’s personal tax returns from 2018 or 2019.
Trump has previously refused to release his tax returns since the 2016 election, making him the only president in modern history not to release them.
During a debate with then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, Trump said not paying any federal income taxes “makes me smart.”
Biden, the former vice president under President Barack Obama, tweeted that he’s released 22 years of his returns as of Tuesday and challenged Trump to do the same.
“The American people deserve transparency from their leaders,” Biden tweeted.
The release also comes hours before the first presidential debate, which is scheduled for 9 p.m. EDT. The findings on Trump’s tax returns are expected to come up during the debate.
Trump has dismissed the Times report as “fake news” but hasn’t provided evidence to back that claim.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her husband also released their 2019 return Tuesday, showing they paid nearly $1.2 million in federal income taxes.
This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 3:11 PM.
