Obama Releases 2007 Tax Returns

(Via washingtonpost.com.)

Sen. Barack Obama released his 2007 tax returns this evening, hours before his debate with Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The tax returns show he made $4,238,165 last year, most of it ($3.9 million) a result of profits from his best selling books. He reported paying $1,396,772 in federal taxes and making charitable contributions totaling $240,370. Those donations included $26,270 to the Trinity United Church of Christ, which was the Chicago parish of his controversial longtime pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

The release, one day after the tax filing deadline, appeared to be the latest move in a game of transparency one-upmanship between Obama and Clinton. Earlier today, Clinton’s campaign knocked Obama for failing to release returns from 1997 through 1999, something the Clintons had done as part of their time in the White House.

Obama had previously released returns from 2000 to 2006 and pressed Clinton to release her tax returns from the years after she lived in the White House, which she did earlier this month. The Clintons’ returns showed that they had made $109 million in income since leaving the White House. They filed for an extension for their 2007 taxes.