Subscribe by RSSMcCain releases taxes, made the least in 2007
McCain alone made $405,000 in 2007 individually. The returns for his wife, with an estimated $100 million worth, have not been released, and probably won’t be. So of the three candidates, McCain made the least in 2007 with his wife racking in the big bucks. Obama made over $4 million from his books and Hillary Clinton also pulled in tens of millions of her book sales. Note to McCain: write a book while you’re running for President!
Here’s the report on it from Fox News:
WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate John McCain earned a total of $405,409 last year and donated a quarter of it to charity, according to tax returns that provide only a partial picture of his family’s enormous wealth.
His 2007 individual tax filing does not account for his wife’s estimated worth of $100 million.
McCain and his wife, Cindy, have kept their finances separate throughout their 27-year marriage, and long have filed their taxes individually.
The Arizona senator routinely is ranked among the richest in Congress. But a prenuptial agreement has kept most of the family’s assets in the name of his wife, an heiress to a Phoenix-based beer distributing company.
Released Friday, McCain’s return indicated that he paid $84,460 in taxes on taxable income of $258,800. He gave $105,467 to charitable organizations, most of which went to the John and Cindy McCain Family Foundation. The foundation then distributed much of the money to charities. The donations include royalties from five of his books, including the biographical “Faith of My Fathers” and “Worth the Fighting For.”
His income included his Senate salary of $161,708, a Navy pension of $58,358 and Social Security income of $23,157. His return shows that he paid $17,700 in alimony last year; he and his first wife divorced some three decades ago.
Aides say Cindy McCain will not release her tax returns to protect the privacy of the couple’s four children; details of their wealth are included in her filing.
On the surface, McCain donating 25% to charity seems high compared to less than 10% for Obama and around 20% for the Clintons. However, if McCain donated 25% of his personal income, which would be around $100,000 donated, that’s minuscule compared to his wife’s massive income. She will not be releasing hers so we don’t know if McCain is more generous or not than his Democratic opponents.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...Visit the You Decide 2008 Store »
Loading ...
Nate, McCain has written several books, here’s the summary on his royalties from his website http://www.johnmccain.com.....financial/
“Senator McCain donates his royalties from his books to charitable organizations. This sum has totaled over $1,800,000 since 1998 when he signed his first book deal. Senator McCain’s book income of $256,898 for 2006 and 2007 is comprised of earnings for Faith of My Fathers, Worth the Fighting For, Why Courage Matters, Character is Destiny, and Hard Call. .
Beginning in 1991, Senator McCain has also donated the increase in his Senate salary for that year and each subsequent year to charity because he opposed the Congressional pay increase at that time and pledged not to accept the pay raises. The cumulative total of these donations is over $450,000.”
Nice to know the second paragraph, I didn’t previously.
Also, Foxnews reported Cindy McCain’s income as well.
“According to the returns, Cindy McCain’s income from the beer distributorship, Hensley & Company, was $432,991 in 2007.”
I’m very confused, why is it good to make the least amount of money? Look at the backlash that the Clintons received when they announced they had made $109 million since 2002. Maybe the Democrat mantra that wealthy people are evil is working.
Looks like McCain’s decision to leave his first wife for some rich broad was a good career choice on his part…
Let’s be real the two other candidates filed joint tax returns. The McCains didn’t. How much did his wife make staying home devising recipes, baking cookies and collecting dividends. I’m sure she is paying little or no taxes, capital gains or otherwise, no wonder he’s opposed to tax cuts on the wealthy. She probably gives him an allowance in some form that he doesn’t have to claim on his taxes.
Kind of shady business that he didn’t release his would-be first lady’s. If Obama tried that I guarantee people would have a field day.
Babs, I am assuming you see some failings or imperfections in John McCain. For me, I see Barack Obama’s lack of executive experience a hindrance, for Hillary Clinton her manner of politics. If you have one for John McCain, what would it be?
Yes Michael, I do have one. (And I also agree with you on Obama and Hillary, by the way).
The very nature of McCain’s staunchness on some issues and his history of “showdowns”, if you will, with other elected officials in Congress worries me a bit. He doesn’t always “work and play well with others”. I cheer the Maverick in him on personally, but I think we all know a President can only be as effective as congress allows him to be. We especially saw that in Carter’s term. McCain’s long time reputation gives me some concern that Congress as a whole may work against him as much as work with him, and that would hurt us all. I’m not sure that should be a major issue with McCain, though, as he also has the reputation of crossing the aisle and working as well with Democrats as he does with Republicans at times. But it does give me pause, and I hope that the latter will be the case, and not the former.
An example of what I’m talking about is Sen. Murtha, who this week has gotten a lot of press over his “pot calling the kettle black” age remark about McCain. One would wonder why a 75 year old would make such a silly remark about a 71 year old, especially since he was still actively seeking new positions himself just last year. So I have to wonder if Murtha has a personal interest (other than being a democrat) in making statements like that. When I realized Murtha was ranked #3 in pork barrel spending last year - call me paranoid - I tend to believe that’s the personal angle, since McCain has put a bullseye on those foreheads. And if that could be so, how many others are there like him, and how much trouble could that mean for a President McCain?
I respect the Maverick, but it could cause some problems for him as President. And if it does, it will affect us all.
Stalin,
Obama and his wife courts the notion that only they can relate to the “common folks” because they place themselves outside the wealthy elite. You’ll remember their comments like “We just paid off our student loans this year”.
I don’t believe the amount of money you make in any given year is relevant, I think the relevancy is how you manage what you make. We’re talking about people who are promising to balance the budget here. We’re talking about people who are either being truthful or lieing. We’re talking about people who either stand behind their principals or they don’t.
This being said, there are telling things in all of their tax returns. We only need to look, and see the relevance for ourselves.
Babs, the McCain issue that you bring up is a good one.
You saying he doesn’t “work and play well with others.”
It reminds me of him saying (last year, sometime — referring to low Congress approval ratings) that the only people who approve of Congress are “paid staffers and blood relatives.”
I’m not really going anywhere with that, it’s just one of McCain’s soundbites that sticks in my head.
That’s hilarious, Whobody, thanks. I’ll have to file that one under “wish I’d said that”. *L*