Bushes Report Taxable Income of $672,788

[SillyGoose]

WASHINGTON - President Bush reported taxable income of $672,788 for last year, on which he paid $207,307 in federal income taxes, according to presidential returns released Friday by the White House.


The tax bill for the president and first lady Laura Bush was lower than the previous year when the first couple reported $822,126 in adjusted gross income and paid $227,490 in federal income taxes.


The Bushes listed as income his presidential salary and investment income from trusts that hold their assets.


The couple contributed $77,785 to churches and charitable organizations, including Evergreen Chapel at Camp David, Md., St. John's Church in Washington, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army World Service Office, AmeriCares, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and the Federal Government's Combined Federal Campaign

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&e=1&u=/ap/20050415/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_income_taxes

[flordehinojos]

1. WHERE ARE THEY STASHING THE REST OF IT?!!!!!!!!!

THEY ARE STASHING MILLIONS AWAY SO THEY WON'T HAVE TO PAY TAXES!!!!!!

[dancingme]

2. In Dick Cheney's Halliburton Blind Trust

You know, the one he won't touch ;-)

[onehandle]

3. No, that's likely right. However after 2008...

The Bush's wealth will go up insanely.

Much more than Clinton's did. Who left office with negative wealth.

[pfitz59]

10. Family and friends!

He'll get his pay-back in 'honorariums', board memberships, a 'ghosted' biography (with $10 million advance and huge bulk sales), speaking fees ($200K a pop to hear Dim Son garble syntax), will probably sell "the Ranch" at a hefty profit! (The G.W. Bush pig ranch museum and toxic waste dump!) Don't fret for George, he's set for life!

[ragin_acadian]

11. actually, they probably didn't stash any of it. it is probably right

out in the open. but thanks to bush's tax cuts, dividends are no longer taxable. because in america, everyone owns stock w/dividend payments.

i don't have the time to look at the tax laws right now, but i am sure that "the chimperor and xanax, warrior princess" have several million in assets that are no longer taxable under his plans. maybe gov't/municipal bonds, foreign currencies, exempted property, etc.

kinda makes ya' feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?

[lumpy]

19. Tax shelters for the wealthy

vastly improved during Reagan's tenure have not fallen off the tax map. The US aristocracy's great grand children will be be set for life.

[Xithras]

24. Nowhere. We tax income, not wealth, in this country.

I can park a billion dollars in a non-interest generating savings account, live off it for the rest of my life, and never pay any taxes on it. Why? Because our tax system is designed to tax income as it's being generated, not after that. If I inherit that billion, I'll pay taxes the year I inherit it, but not after that. If I park it in an interest bearing account, I'll pay taxes on any interest appreciation, but not on the billion itself.

It's entirely possible in this country to be worth millions or billions, but only pay taxes on a few hundred thousand a year. It's not a loophole, it's the basic design of the system.

[flordehinojos]

26. thank you for the illumination.

but don't you think that iraq is generating some new oil income for the bushes, junior, poppy and jeb?

[doodadem]

4. Are we to believe

that this man is not a millionaire many times over? I'm sorry, you just don't get to be president, or even governor, unless you're filthy rich. Who does he think he's kidding?

[SoCalDem]

9. If you are "rich", you do not NEED cash

rich and powerful people get "favors" from people who need "favors" in return.. If your son buys a house and lets you live in it for free, you are liable for taxes on the "value" of your rent-free status, and HE is liable for taxes on the "income" that you should be paying him, but if you are a well-connected richie-rich, people "do things" for you, and a wink-wink is enough "payment"..

[ElaineinIN]

5. Probably taxed at the trust level

For income tax purposes, there are two kinds of trusts:

1. Grantor trusts. In general, grantor trusts are ignored for income tax purposes, and the income and capital gains are reported on the grantor's tax return. I'm guessing that to the extent that the Bushes had to set up blind trusts for investments upon the election*, the income from those trusts are included in the tax return.

2. Non-grantor trusts. Non-grantor trusts are treated as separate entities for income tax purposes, and report and pay their own income taxes. Non-grantor trusts are "quasi-passthrough" entities. IN GENERAL: To the extent that they distribute income to the beneficiary, the tax liability passes to the beneficiary with the income. To the extent that the income accumulates in the trust, the trust pays the tax. The exception is capital gains, which is almost always taxed at the trust level. So to the extent that the BFEE set up prior trusts for the benefit of the Shrub and his Shrublets, the tax may not be reported on his return.

By the way, that isn't necessarily a bad thing for the federal fisc, as trust income tax rates are by and large more compressed, and therefore, marginally higher than equivalent individual rates. In addition, depending upon where the trust might be set up, the trust's state income tax rate might be higher than the beneficiary's (like Texas, which has no income tax...)

Thus endeth the tax lesson for today, Ap. 15

[ohtransplant]

12. Good points.

I'm also leery that last year's figure is AGI and this year's is taxable income. I bet something is being obscured in there.

[hector459]

6. You just know this is bullshit. The public should be outraged!

Is he the lowest earning President in the last 40 years? I think not.
More lies.

[KC21304]

7. Oh oh ! The Bushies are going to catch hell from the fundies.

for giving to the Susan G Komen Foundation. Don't they know that this foundation gives to Planned Parenthood ? And Planned Parenthood encourages abortion.

Let the fun begin.

[Lisa]

8. wow -- I actually gave a bigger % to charity than "Mr. Compassionate"

And I make less than a tenth of what he does, too.

[stray cat]

13. What did they get in non-taxable income?

[sam sarrha]

14. all his investments involving conflict of intrest .. are being held till

he is out of office ..then he can collect his millions

....with interest

[Roland99]

15. How much lumber did he sell?

[radfringe]

20. lol -- my thought exactly -- got wood? (n/t)

[SKKY]

23. I saw that on a t-shirt at the DU store and didn't get it. What's the...

...significance of got wood, or need some wood? I must have missed something.

[Tace]

25. During One Of The Debates With Kerry, Bush Said He Was Unaware

That one of his trusts owns timber or a timber company in Canada. Bush cracked something to the effect of, "Need wood?"

[ray of light]

16. Automatic Tax Minimum info at the Democracy Cell Project

An interview with a leading economist about how the average american is getting abused by our tax code.

http://www.democracycellproject.net (check the blog)

[struggle4progress]

17. Maybe he should support raising the minimum wage.

In eight year as President, his salary alone will total $3.2 million: a minimum wage earner would take over 250 years to earn the same amount. After that, he recieves a $160K annual pension (not counting the perqs, for doing diddly-squat: that's substantially more than a minimum wage employee working full time earns in a decade.

[ngGale]

18. All his money is in Daddy's name...n/t

[Moderator]

21. kick

[maxrandb]

22. Bushes report gross income of $784,219

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH_INCOME_TAXES?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush reported adjusted gross income of $784,219 for last year, on which he paid $207,307 in federal taxes - about $20,000 less than the previous year, according to the president's return released Friday by the White House.

-emphasis mine.

It was actually about $23,000 less after the tax cut, but who am I to quibble?

Cheney also got a reduction in taxes of almost $75,000. Must be nice to get a bigger tax cut than most Americans make in a year.

So, let me see if I get this straight.

-Presidents tax cut = $23,000
-Vice Presidents tax cut = $75,000
-My tax cut = $750.00

I am so glad that these two are just "average Joe's".

Oh well, I'm sure the people that voted for them and support their economic policies are looking to the day that they are millionaires so that they can get such a whopping tax cut as well.

[stevebreeze]

27. Bush's other tax rate....social security

Since SS taxes are capped at $90,000 Bush other tax is easy to calculate too. $90,000 * 12.4 = $11,160. It is commonly assumed that the worker in essence pays both their and their employers portion of SS. Now $11,160/ $672,788 = 1.6%. If the cap were to come off of SS, Bush's SS tax could be as much as $83425.712, of course this assumes all of Bush's income is in wages since income from wealth is not subject to SS. At any rate $72265.71 may be Bush's saving from having a SS cap.

So Bush's effective federal tax rate is 31% in income taxes and 1.6% on SS taxes. Any wonder why taking the cap off of SS payments isn't a big issue with the right?

It is also worth noting Bush's savings from his tax cuts. According to www.CTJ.org this amounts to $28,846. Is good to be rich, ain't it?

[leesa]

28. And billions squirreled away somewhere...