Campaign

Bernie Sanders releases 10 years of tax returns

by Naomi Jagoda and Alicia Cohn - 04/15/19 6:10 PM ET

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) released 10 years of his tax returns on Monday as part of his 2020 presidential campaign.

The release of his returns came on the the deadline for taxpayers to file their 2018 returns.

The returns show that the adjusted gross income for Sanders and his wife, Jane, in 2018 was $561,293 and that they paid a 26 percent effective tax rate.

The returns show earnings of more than $1 million over the last two years, reflecting Sanders’s recent acknowledgement that sales of his book have made him a millionaire.

In 2017, Sanders and his wife had adjusted gross income of $1,131,925 and an effective tax rate of 30.4 percent. In 2016, they had adjusted gross income $1,062,626 and an effective tax rate of 35 percent.

{mosads}”These tax returns show that our family has been fortunate. I am very grateful for that, as I grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck and I know the stress of economic insecurity,” Sanders said in a statement. “That is why I strive every day to ensure every American has the basic necessities of life, including a livable wage, decent housing, health care and retirement security.”

“I consider paying more in taxes as my income rose to be both an obligation and an investment in our country. I will continue to fight to make our tax system more progressive so that our country has the resources to guarantee the American Dream to all people,” Sanders added.

Sanders and his wife reported $18,950 in charitable contributions on their 2018 return. Sanders’s campaign said that proceeds from one of the senator’s books are also donated directly to charity, and Sanders and his wife don’t claim a deduction for those donations.

Sanders released his returns minutes before he participated in a town hall on Fox News. During the program, Sanders criticized President Trump’s 2017 tax-cut law, saying it’s a “disgrace” that some corporations aren’t paying anything in federal income taxes.

He also said he won’t apologize for writing a best-selling book and that he’s not vilifying people with a lot of money but wants to ensure that they are paying their “fair share” of taxes.

This release of Sanders’s tax returns is more extensive than his disclosure during his 2016 presidential campaign. At that time, he released only his 2014 tax return.

Several other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have also released at least 10 years of tax returns. These candidates include Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) as well as Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D). Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) also released his returns on Monday, shortly after Sanders did.

In releasing their tax returns, Democratic presidential candidates are contrasting themselves with Trump, who in 2016 became the first major-party nominee in decades to not release any of his tax returns.