Joe Biden

What the Heck Is Biden Smiling About? Is There A Sale On Ramen At The Safeway?

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Joe Biden released his tax returns, putting an end to the rumor that he simply talks the IRS through his financial dealings during a 22 hour phone call.
Paul Caron at TaxProf Blog points out a curious oversight during the senator’s 35-year career of changing to become more like a Washington insider (isn’t that the line?):

I wonder, though, if the move might backfire because the returns show that the Bidens have been amazingly tight-fisted when it comes to their charitable giving. Despite income ranging from $210,432 – $321,379 over the ten-year period, the Bidens have given only $120 – $995 per year to charity, which amounts to 0.06% – 0.31% of their income:

Caron, like most tax professors, is quite a bit better than I am at analyzing tax returns for logical inconsistencies. But what jumps off the page to me is that over a ten year period Joe Biden has barely been able to bank what senior Biglaw associates pull down.
Isn’t the state of Delaware essentially one giant bank? How is that Biden couldn’t cross the $300K barrier until 2005? And what in God’s name happened to him in 2006, when his AGI went down by almost $73,000?
We all know who I’m in the tank for. But seriously, if anything is going to backfire, doesn’t it have to be that this guy says he can help lead the economy out of a recession yet can’t seem to manage his own house much better than a law school professor?
Maybe I’m reading this the wrong way. Maybe Biden is massively wealthy but also savvy enough to hide most of his earnings from the federal government. But that reading seems like it would also be problematic for a guy who will, you know, raise taxes.
Either way, something is not entirely right with those numbers.
Biden Releases 10 Years of Tax Returns [TaxProf Blog]

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