Biden Releases His Taxes Ahead of Debate With Trump, Returns Show He Paid Over $300,000 in 2019

Hours before his first debate with President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden has released his tax returns.

The tax forms for Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, show that the couple earned a combined $944,737 in taxable income last year, paid $346,240 in taxes, and received a refund of $46,858. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), Biden’s running mate, also released her information and it shows that she earned more than $3 million in taxable income and paid nearly $755,000 in taxes.

The timing for the release of Biden’s taxes seems to be a strategic maneuver to highlight his transparency compared to that of Trump. The president has refused to release his tax returns for years claiming that he’s withholding the information because he’s under audit — even though that would not legally restrict him from making his returns public.

The release also appears to be a jab over the New York Times’ reporting that Trump only paid $750 in federal income taxes for 2016 and 2017. The Times article provided an extensive review on Trump’s financial information — which found that the president claimed major business losses over the years, paid no federal income taxes for 10 of the last 15 years, and engaged in numerous tax-dodging maneuvers that have raised legal questions.

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