Obama releases 2007 taxes

Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:16 PM by Mark Murray

From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan and NBC's Mark Murray
The Obamas released their 2007 tax return, which shows they earned more than $4 million -- which is a sizable increase from past filings (almost all of which comes from sales of his books).

Per the campaign, here are the highlights:
Total income: $4,238,165
Adjusted gross income: $4,139,965
Salaried income: $260,735
Net profit from books: $3,943,378
Federal taxes paid: $1,396,772
Total charitable contributions for 2007: $240,370

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Comments

Now that THAT has been done. Where are your 2007 returns Hill & Bill? Gotten around to that list of Library Donors yet?

Waiting With Tapping Toe (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:23 PM)

Looks like Barack is getting right into the swing of things of politicians who cash in on their fame. He's just like Bill and Hillary. Some "Change" that is.

Linsey White, San Diego (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:23 PM)

Hillary, where is your own 2007 Tax-Return?....It is so bitter the canditates are not focussing on the issues, instead on nonsense...

Corinna, Vienna, Austria (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:23 PM)

After and entire months of the Rev Wright controversy and 5 days and counting of the press hyperventilating over Senator Obama's 'bitter' remarks, it's no surprise that they will NOT cover newly unearthed statements by Hillary Clinton in which she said to working class whites "screw 'em!" It's clear this not about covering the candidates FAIRLY but lynching Obama! Her statements, while far worse than Senator Obama's, are not at issue, but her hypocrisy is!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/16/hillary-clinton-on-workin_n_97017.html

Dee of VA (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:24 PM)

Cheap ass only gives 5% to charity when he wants you to give, give, give.

obama=drama (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:25 PM)

wow, where are Hillary's 07 taxes? or for that matter, her full tax returns for the previous years? she didn't release the whole thing did she?

Maggie, Californa (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:27 PM)

I say he whole-heartedly deserves the income from the wonderful books he has written - and of course his senate salary!

colene, New York, New York (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:28 PM)

$4 million? Holy bankroll, Batman.

I gotta write some books. But maybe I should get elected to national office first. :)

Heavy book sales in last year's income isn't a surprise, especially with two spoken-word Grammys and the presidential race fueling sales.

So..."Obambi" is in the books. Should be fun to see how much "Shrillary" and "McSame" pulled in. :)

BMR, Pittsburgh PA (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:33 PM)

How can Clinton demand Obamas tax returns for 2007 when she filed a tax extension for her 2007 returns? All we got was a summary that they provided. Not very much transparency. And I sure don't see any money given Obama from China or Columbia.

Peggy, Chicago, IL (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:35 PM)

double standard to the end but its ok cause people are seing now.Where are the rest now Obama?Where are the ones from senate days??Where is your schedule for state senate days??Obamas wife has said she will use all her now and future resources to benefit the black community first and formost.Is that a deduction??

jane-pa (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:36 PM)

Linsey White, San Diego: They're ALL millionaires - you'll have to find something better than that.

Truth Squad (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:36 PM)

The Clintions never made 4.2 million before being President. So don't bring up the Clintons money anymore.

Natalie (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:37 PM)

I can see Obama haters thinking now. Isn't it logical that since Obama declared he was running for president that it's only natural that his book sales would increase? I hear all this talk about no one knows anything about the man. Maybe people do, because they have read the book. He wrote those books long before running for president. You can find out a lot about a person by reading their biographies.

Dennis, Los Angeles, CA (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:38 PM)

Donated 5% to charity - a far cry from the Clinton's 10%. Oh well....enough of the tax thing really. They're all rich period!

joyce, ny (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:39 PM)

to the loser obama=drama:

giving up his life to be a dedicated public servant isn't enough for you?

thats a significant amount to charity, especially in light of this increased income being a new development for the Obamas. give them a break here. seriously.

i wonder how much of Cindy McCain beer fortune the McCains have given to charity. perspective please.

Betty in Baltimore (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:39 PM)

Thank you Senator, and Mrs. Obama. Now, where is Hill's, and Bill's 2007 returns, as well as, McCain's returns that he has been hiding for the past 26 years?

donna, pgh., pa. (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:39 PM)

Don't hold your breath waiting for Hildabeast to give up her returns. It's not going to happen.

Dave, Tampa, FL (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:39 PM)

does this include his wifes income too??Boy those books sure pay for yrs. I better get started.

askin (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:40 PM)

I say he did not deserve his Senate salary having spent most of the time preparing for his campaign, voting 'present' (read: I have no opinion) 133 times, not having any foreign affairs meeting on the sub committee he shares - really why are we paying this guy?!

scrutinize, PA (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:41 PM)

Obama-Drama,

Did posting that comment make you feel better??? And by the way it is 6%. At least Obama released his tax return. Where is HRC's?? Probably sitting in waiting with the list of donors for the Clinton library.

Of course the Clinton gave over $10 million to charity....but it was to their OWN organization. Nothing like keeping your money close to you, but taking the tax deduction to eliminate your tax burden.

How much did you give to charity last year, Obama-Drama?? How much in tithing??? How much to anyone????

Think before you type next time, please.

Sick of HRC's supporter stupid comments (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:41 PM)

people looking for hillary's tax return only hillarys and bills, it will be release by the end of April. But according to estimated income only for hillary she made about $410,000 for 2007 thats only hillary. For obamabots campared that to Obama's 4.3 million dollar income..

john doe (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:41 PM)

To Obama=drama: Is that the best you can come up with? Bill and Hilary only gave 10% and most of that went to their own charity. Obama also pays his bills, which is something Hilary doesn't want to do.

Oscar, Rio Vista CA (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:42 PM)

If ANYONE in the Clinton camp takes pot shots based on this, you are the WORST of hypocrites. Where are your 2007 returns, Billary?

ME, CA (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:42 PM)

obama = drama-

How much did you give to charity? In fact how much did your entire extended family give to charity? And your local NRA chapter doesn't count.

Brian, AR (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:42 PM)

Say what you want Hill Haters but your GIRL is still looking like the true 109 Million dollar elist even with a $4,000,000 plus income last year for Barack and Michelle. At least we know his money came from his books. Hill's fat cat satus is partly due Big Billy's CFTA cash in and all lord only knows what else. Maybe that Paul trial is holding things up you think?

Still Wating Still Tapping Toe (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:43 PM)

Linsey, in case you missed it, they've all made money from books. That's terrific. Here's the change you were asking about: he didn't earn $800,000 from Columbia for helping to pass a trade deal while telling voters he was against it.

REality Check (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:44 PM)

Hey fellow Obama supporters, go to the link below and see what HRC told Bill back in 1995. She says, "Screw 'Em" and she is talking about working class whites. Is this the smoking gun?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/16/hillary-clinton-on-workin_n_97017.html

Ismael, Weslaco Tx (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:44 PM)

A good portion of Bill and Hillary's charitable contributions were to the Clinton foundation. Conflict of interests?
Obama '08

Mitchell Feldman, Vestal, NY (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:44 PM)

Obama=drama, hey moron, that's the same percentage the Clintons gave when you take out their "gifts" to their own charity.

Just the Facts (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:45 PM)

Good for him! I loved the books, he produced a good product, he should rewarded for it. Oh and Hillary said "Screw em" to working class whites? Nice Hillary, real nice....

Nick (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:45 PM)

When did releasing your taxes become a requirement?
Who cares!!! We know that all of the politicians are fat cats why do we need to see every penny they make? All I care about is who is going to bring more jobs to my community and lower gas prices. That is what I based my vote on and I care about none of the other bickering. The democrats are going to make me vote for McCain in Nov. Why are you people above attacking Clinton. Obama is a politician too and they are all the same. Stop attacking both and let them battle it out themselves and earn the nomination.

Hillary '08

Danielle Pittsburgh, PA (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:45 PM)

When Obama gives to charity - he actually gives to charity. The Clinton's gave almost all of their money to their own family foundation and most of that money hasn't been given to anyone (as of 2006). Apparently they started disbursing in 2007 but the gifts that have been revealed so far $25k to George McGovern's charity (well whaddya know now he's endorsing them), another $5k to another superdelegates cause, have been politically motivated. Can't wait to see how they've been using this money in 2007.

As for Linsey's remark that he's cashing in like the Clinton's I find it shocking that she's equating royalty income for books with $500k to $2mil for speeches. Clearly there are potential obligations and conflicts of interest associated with the latter that are completely absent in the former.

Gary, Toronto, ON (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:46 PM)

If the Clintons are elitists at $109 mil over 7 years (or $7.7 mil each/year), then Obama is catching up. How much more does he have to make before we can officially call him an elitist?

Just Wondering (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:47 PM)

obama=drama,

Cheap ass only gives 5% to charity when he wants you to give, give, give.
------------------------------------------------------

What was the precentage of your income given to charity? It is not for you to judge other people's alms. At least the Obama's did not slide their charity behind their backs into their own foundation, like the Clintons did with their so-called 10,000,000 in charity.

YES WE CAN!

donna, pgh., pa. (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:47 PM)

At least his charity donations weren't to his own foundation, like Hillary's. BTW, where are Hillary's 2007 returns?

Lin Lo (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:47 PM)

Dee of VA: MSNBC doesn't usually post information that isn't credible. What does that tell you?

On Obama's income...I wonder how much came from Rezko and how much went to the Rev. Wright...ummmmmm

Jan, VA (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:47 PM)

Obama=Drama Who cares how much he gives to charity as at least hes giving. How much have you given to charity lately.

Kristen IL (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:49 PM)

Cheap ass only gives 5% to charity when he wants you to give, give, give.
obama=drama
_____________________________________________________

They paid $1.4 million in taxes! You sound like an idiot. A little over 25% of their income went to taxes. The $250,000 to charity was additional. I guess you think that it was honorable of the Clintons to donate $10 million to themselves.

Angie, IL (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:50 PM)

'obama = drama' How can you criticize them? The Obamas gave pretty much all of their salary to charity, and still paid about 33% of their income to taxes.

They paid more in taxes than I bet you'll make in your lifetime, I know they paid more than I will ever make. I don't understand the need to attack someone over only giving away their whole salary. What more do you expect?

Hilliary lent her campaign more than Obama made last year, where are here financials?

Ester, San Diego, CA (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:50 PM)

Cheap ass?? Cheap ass?? No friend, turn away from sophmoric statements like that........dumb name calling puts you in the same catagory as those you probably would not want to associate with. Recite the facts, give honest discourse, but dont't show a side you'd rather keep covered when the country's at stake.

Sherri,Charleston WV (Sent Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:51 PM)

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