October 03, 2008
Gov. Palin Releases Tax Returns, Reveals Charitable Giving
By Eric Kelderman
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, has released her 2006 and 2007 tax returns, which include the totals of her charitable giving.
In 2007, the governor and her husband, Todd Palin, donated $2,500 to charity in cash donations and $825 in non-cash gifts, for a total of $3,325. This is 2 percent of their adjusted gross income.
The year before, the couple donated $4,250 to charity in cash and $630 in non-cash donations, for a total of $4,880 — or 3.8 percent of their adjusted gross income.
Gov. Palin is the final major party candidate for President or Vice President to release her tax return for public consumption.
She follows her running mate, Sen. John McCain, Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama, and Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden.
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looks like if you take out the very recent dough to the good rev wright by the obam’s, the palins beat the obam’s and the bidens combined.
— fred Oct 3, 05:21 PM #
Fred, are you allowed to say nice things about a conservative? I thought in this kind of field we all had to “stay in the closet” as we have the sin that dare not say its name
— ellen Oct 4, 02:29 AM #
It is good to see other conservatives come out in this field. so how do you do.
— linda Oct 4, 12:46 PM #
I would counter Fred’s statement by asking how much of the Palin’s donations were to their church? A detailed listing would be interesting to see for all candidates.
— Ron Oct 6, 07:59 AM #
Ron, you’re right to point-out that the donations are nearly meaningless without knowledge of who the Palins (or any candidate) supported. Here’s another example of where ISSUES are of high importance.
— Carla Oct 6, 09:35 AM #
The evidence indicates that conservatives tend to give more to social causes than liberals, even when you remove giving to church/mosque/synagogue.
http://www.arthurbrooks.net/whoreallycares/index.html
— Richard Oct 6, 09:46 AM #
Not sure where you got your data, Fred, but according to the tax documents filed by the Obamas with the IRS, in 2005 they gave $77,315 and in 2006 $60,307 to charity. The total to the church for those two years combined was $27,500 but there was also $20,000 to a Chicago literacy organization, $25,000 to the Illinois Reading Council, $31,000 to CARE and $5,000 to a dance theater. Those numbers are rather larger than the $2,500 cash giving by the Palins.
— Lori Oct 6, 11:29 AM #
Palin is NOT a very good evangelical…shouldn’t she be giving 10% of her income away. This is pathetic!!!!
— Jeff Oct 6, 12:51 PM #
Wait a minute – remember that the Palin’s have five kids. That could make a difference. And I am not saying this because I am a fan of Sarah Palin.
— Gail Oct 6, 01:19 PM #
The Palin family does not come “from money” and they have several family members to support, remember that.
$225K adjusted gross income is not upper class, sadly.
While elected officials “should” give to charities, and I personally do not like the Palins, I would also have liked to see a higher percentage of giving from them – I just don’t want to downplay the role that having those kids plays in a family’s economics.
— Laura Oct 6, 01:20 PM #
As my 99 year old Mother says” A Pox on both houses”
— larry0928 Oct 6, 01:27 PM #
Right on, Gail.
There is so much to consider here, before jumping to conclusions. The Palin’s cost of living compared to other candidates — that includes raising five kids; costs associated with raising a child with Down Syndrome; church tithing; a sudden influx of cash from the sale of Obama’s book, etc.. Let’s do our homework before jumping to conclusions.
— Kevin Feldman Oct 6, 01:30 PM #
I disagree about the “cost of living” being relevant. Everyone can choose to spend all of their money or some of their money. People that care about others donate to charities. The standard is 10% and I consider that a minimum. My income is less than 30% of theirs yet I still contribute over twice as much. It is all a matter of how we see ourselves in the community.
— Darryl Oct 6, 01:55 PM #
According to a Bloomberg article in March of ’08:
March 25 (Bloomberg) — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his wife Michelle gave $10,772 of the $1.2 million they earned from 2000 through 2004 to charities, or less than 1 percent, according to tax returns for those years released today by his campaign.
The Obamas increased the amount they gave to charity when their income rose in 2005 and 2006 after the Illinois senator published a bestselling book. The $137,622 they gave over those two years amounted to more than 5 percent of their $2.6 million income.
You do the math
— Michele Oct 6, 01:58 PM #
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone just told the truth and stopped spewing fabricated information to the American people! Oh, but I guess that would not play well in getting their two guys elected. My bad.
— Emilie Oct 6, 02:37 PM #
Brothers and Sisters, I have a question: Who gave you the right to sit in judgement about how much of their income the Palins—or anyone else, for that matter, should give away? That is a very private matter and a lot of things impact it. Children do matter, and if you think it doesn’t cost a lot more to live in Alaska than many of the lower 48, guess again! But even then, it’s not for you, nor me, nor anyone else, to make those decisions for other people. I gave away a substantial percentage of my income last year, much of which went directly to individuals who needed help and does not show up on my tax return. How much I gave, and to whom (or whether I gave anything at all) was my choice. Obama,however, does not share that sentiment He wants to raise taxes and let the government decide how and to whom our money should be redistributed.
— Jim Oct 6, 06:50 PM #
To all of those who have been asking questions about the charitable giving records of the other political candidates, here is our coverage of the release of their tax records:
Sen. John McCain:
http://philanthropy.com/news/updates/index.php?id=4437
Sen. Barack Obama:
http://philanthropy.com/news/updates/4219/barack-and-michelle-obama-donated-60307-to-charity-in-2006
Sen. Joe Biden:
http://philanthropy.com/news/government/5685/bidens-average-annual-charitable-gift-total-369
— Peter Panepento Oct 6, 07:30 PM #
Jim:
Gov. Palin gave me the right and the responsibility to sit in judgement on her actions the day she accepted the nomination for Vice President of the United States as did Sen. Biden. Sen.‘s Obama and McCain did the same as candidates for president.
— Lori Oct 7, 12:56 PM #