US President Joe Biden and his wife earned nearly $620,000 in 2023, tax return shows

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on Monday (April 15) showed in their tax returns that their income rose 7 per cent to $619,976 in 2023 and that the couple paid 23.7 per cent of their income in federal taxes.

The US president released the data on the deadline date for Americans to file their taxes.

The tax return for Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff were also released by the White House, showing that the couplemade $450,299 last year.

Taking a dig at Donald Trump, the White House said in a statement, “President Biden thinks that all occupants of the Oval Office should be open and honest with the American people and that the tradition of annually releasing presidential tax returns should continue unbroken.”

It is worth mentioning that Trump declined to voluntarily release his tax returns while he was president, saying he was not able to do so while being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, even as the agency claimed he was free to release them.

Biden and his wife earned four-fifths of their income from their jobs as US president and teacher at Northern Virginia Community College. Joe Biden drew a $400,000 wage, while Jill Biden earned $85,985 from her job teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College.

The additional income was drawn from interest on investments, pensions and a corporate entity that collects the couple's book royalties.

Biden’s reported $20,477 worth of contributions to 17 different charities in 2023. They donated $5,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, which is named after the president’s late son, and smaller amounts to other organisations, including the Fraternal Order of Police, a Wilmington fire station and St. Joseph on the Brandywine.

The proportion of Joe Biden's income that went to federal taxes was roughly equal to the prior year.

Biden plans to deliver a speech on tax policy from Pennsylvaniaon Tuesday that is expected to include a call for the wealthy to pay higher rates of taxes.

(With inputs from agencies)