"The Clintons have now made public thirty years of tax returns"

30 years? I see only 7

Am I missing something?

Yeah she knows what it's like being a blue collar worker.

Also does this include money given by foreign uranium dealers to his library?

Or is that separate?

Do we know if Hillary can dip into the library money???

$57M? That's pretty much middle class, right?

Wow. Just wow. That's a lot of money.

Wow. Bill made $51 mil for "just words?"

How dare they make so much money, pay their fair share of taxes and give so much to charity! I'm outraged! This is a huge scandal of epic proportions!

books 40M + speeches 52M + salaries/pensions 2M = 94M, out of 109M total.

15M missing in action?

$110 Million is what the Clintons made in 6 years, now compare that to Obamas who made just little over $3 million.

Now lets see if FOX News covers this like how they topped storied Obama's returns
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/03/25/obamas-open-tax-returns-earned-nearly-1m-in-2006/

at the moment no coverage of Hillary's tax returns yet.

With all that money, she has no qualms stiffing small people who served her campaign. What a dead-beat ! With all this money, she could have done a Mitt Romney this election, but nooo. She had to scrounge around small donors also. This woman really creeps me out.

I've only looked at 2004 & 2005, but why are they all dated 10/14/07????? Were all the taxes years amended in the last 6 months???

If the HRC campaign beleived that the release of these returns was a net positive for her campaign then there is no way they release them at 4:00 on a Friday. Having said that, I am already tired of this issue becasue I am so exhausted by the primary battle.

I would prefer to see Obama continue his positive agenda and to the extent that he goes negative, he should continue his attack on McSame and Bush.

After Obama won Iowa, looking past HRC and towards the general election backfired because it made he seem arrgoant and many voters didn't want the race to end so quickly. The same thing happened to a lesser extent after South Carolina.

At this point, though many don't want HRC to drop out, I do think Obama can afford to get out of the gutter with HRC and move on to attacking the GOP. Perhaps, HRC will finally come to her senses and do the same...

THIS IS GREAT NEWS!!!! FOR HILLARY!!!

Damn. That IS a lot of moolah.

Why can't they pay the small businesses they're stiffing?

How come it seems more likely that BJC was paid all that money for access not words?

Genghis for Ex-President 2016. Elect me in 2012, and I promise to serve only one term so that I can start earning the big bucks while I'm still young. Scratch that, I promise to serve for only six months, become embroiled in a spectacular sex scandal involving a donkey, and resign in disgrace before remaking myself as an inspirational speaker on the lecture circuit. I'm also taking applications for a suitable VP. For offering you the opportunity to replace me after my resignation, thereby making your fortune as well, I will retain 10% of your lecture fees.

I'm a CPA. When we give clients returns to give to a bank or anyone other than the IRS, they don't have the clients' signatures on them. The only return that would have the Clintons' signatures on it would be the one that was filed with the IRS.

I believe the thirty years includes their other years in the White House and when Bill was Governor of Arkansas.

Wha ?? Almost a MILLION $$ "over-payment" in 2005 ? Whats that about ?

Josh, Are you happy now?

Wow. They make a fraction of what the average sports star and Hollywood celebrity makes over 7 years. And that's their combined income.

Guess I kind of thought it would be more.
30% tax rate and 10% contribution to charity. I would hazard a guess that both are higher than pretty well everyone who contributes on this board. 10% is actually a lot (just ask any mormon)

Noticed that they made over 6 million from foreign nations in 2006.

The release does NOT include their 2007 returns AS PROMISED. Supposedly, the Clintons are filing an extension. Gee, why doesn't that surprise me?

That just stinks.

Filthy Rich- may be second only to Bushes among Presidents.

Josh you missed an important point.

$18m income not accounted

I have a feeling, more than a few people will dig deep and hard.

Theories on why the Clintons released these at 4pm on a Friday, suggesting they believe the release isn't a good thing and want it buried in weekend news? You'd think after all the caterwauling for them to release their returns, they'd be trumpeting this from the high heavens.

My theories:

1. PA voters will get a good look at how "blue collar" their candidate really is.

2. Hillary's donors will see that $110 million figure and say "WTF? She doesn't need my money." Donors dry up, particularly internet donations.

Hmm.. that's all I got. Anyone else?

Someone posted somewhere that all the Clintons' charitable giving went to their Foundation.

Also love how they do this dump on the 40th year of MLK Jr's assassination.

The good news is Bush cannot write, but his friends may buy a couple of truck loads each to warm their weekend cabins. This should bring in $5M or so, but annual buys may be a problem as not too many folks want to see Bush.

Point #1: "They paid more taxes than most in their income bracket" That doesn't say much these days.

Point #2: People who make 20 million a YEAR are probably used to getting everything they want. Hence the inability to see the writing on the wall with this election.

Point #3: Obama and family made about 1 (*one*) million in '06...and gave $250,000 to charity. This is like a quarter of their income, unless I am misreading. If so, apologies.

One thing I noticed in 2006, she lists $1,580,503 in charitable contributions.

A statement attached to the return reveals that entire amount was contributed to the Clinton's own charity, the Clinton Family Foundation. The other years don't have statements attached, but news reports reveal the couple gave their foundation about $5.16 million between 2001 and 2005.

Which would seem to indicate that all of their charitable giving is done to the trust. The trust's tax returns are all available on line at foundationcenter.org. It's stats are:

(yr. ended 12/31/06)
Total Assets: $4,383,401
Total Giving: $1,274,900

It's all quite worthy and whatnot, but it's not exactly the same as when you and I give to charity.

Look, there's some sketchy stuff possibly with overseas business and Cayman Islands and whatever, but the Clinton Foundation has done truly wonderful things. They're trying to get the basic needs--food, sanitation, water--to some of the poorest regions of Africa. They are doing great work with AIDS in Africa. They are doing work few others will do and saving lives, and actually working toward lifting these nations out of disease and poverty. Does anyone imagine George Bush is going to have an ex-presidency like this? Bill might be acting like a boob during the primary season, but what he's doing is truly amazing and more than most people do what that kind of money. He should be commended for the foundation and their work.

i was just watching a segment in Hardball.. and surprise surprise.. the big fat f*ck-mouth chris matthews kept questioning why wasn't 2007 tax return released?? what the big fat f*ck mouth asshole conveniently forgot to mention is that neither Obama nor Mccain released their 2007 income yet.

Astonishing! That's just an astonishing amount of money for a couple of politicians. This doesn't even include 2007 income.

Where to start with listing the ironies? For example, would their books have been so compelling to the public (and thereby as lucrative for the Clinton's) if the Lewinsky scandal had never occurred? Should Monica try and get her cut?

How will this play in Altoona? Hillary could actually start to boast that not only can she beat Obama at bowling, she can buy up all of the bowling lanes from Allentown to Alleghaney. That should appeal to her working class/blue collar "base". I can see it now:

VOTE FOR HILLARY FOR FREE BOWLING THE FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH!

Now let's peel back the covers on the sources of funding for Bill's foundation and library. Until the Clinton's are willing to let a little sunlight on those matters, I am compelled to believe the public suggestions that they are also awash with Arab oil money.

The "avoid the dynasty" argument against Hillary's candidacy just grew that much stronger for me.

Astonishing!

Clintons gave TEN percent (10 %) to charity.
Obamas gave ONE, (1 %) to charity.

hmmm.

THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!! FOR HILLARY!!!

If BO becomes the president, how much money do you think he is going to make the first 7 yrs out of office? Seeing the historic nature of his run, he will probably rake in twice as much as the Clinton's did.

Feb 19, 2008:

Hillary Clinton says "speeches don't put food on the table!"

Bill's speeches sure as hell put food on their table! $51 Million Dollars worth

Anyone think that Hillary knew she was lying? or perhaps mis-spoke err maybe she forgot about the $51 Million.

As it is with everything the Clinton's do, they have no concept of moderation. This takes the concept of "cashing in " to an entirely new level. Simply vulgar is perhaps the best way to describe their behavior here and in many other instances. Perhaps Hillary can explain how this level of income fits in with her "35 years of public service". No wonder they did not want Democratic Party voters to see this.

Bingo! We have a winner!

I don't think the Clinton's would release any tax records without dotting all their i's and crossing all their t's. I doubt there is anything suspicious in there.

I find it perversely comforting. Or comfortingly perverse.

This is nothing but a data dump by the Clintons that does not contain the essential data request which is their 2007 tax returns.

2007 tax returns are NOT there.

Those are the ones that matter most. Those are the returns that tell us who Bill Clinton is accepting money from based on his returning to the WH.

the 2007 tax returns are the ones we want.
All these other returns are nothing but a cover up for the information that was requested.

Who is giving money to their library who is Bill being paid by once Hill's candidacy was announced?

We STILL do not know!

Obama was in Indiana because that is where RFK gave his speech the night King was assasinated.

Hillary and McCain needed to be in Memphis, they have lots of stuff to make up for. McCain is even worse than Hillary.

Hillary sounded like she was retelling that Bosnia sniper story with her 'I can into the room and hurled my bookbag across the room' teary voice retelling the day she heard King was slain. Suuuure she did. Goldwater Girl was hurling that bag because she was rejoicing that the Negro agitator was dead.

McCain needs to stop lieing.

If McCain "began to learn" and "studied" after his opposition to the King holiday in ‘83, he was a very slow learner. Four years later,
he didn’t fight against a governor or his own party; he endorsed the governor’s move to eliminate a King holiday!

SIX YEARS LATER after his House vote he began supporting a state holiday, but still opposed a federal King holiday.

ELEVEN YEARS AFTER his vote, he tried to strip federal funding from the MLK Federal Holiday Commission.

SEVENTEEN YEARS AFTER his vote,
McCain publicly endorsed South Carolina’s right to fly the confederate flag over its statehouse.

He is just a LIAR and a dunce.

But of course we knew he was a dunce given that he was 5th from the bottom of his Naval Academy graduating class.

Worse still was that he had to go the Naval Prep School following HS in order to get an appointment to the Academy due to poor HS grades. But even then he couldn't seem to muster the grades to get an appointment as the requirement was for a 2.0GPA. But everyone in the class of 54 at the Naval Prep School with a 1.7 GPA received an appointment as that was what it was lowered to in order to admit this LEGACY son of ADMIRALS.

McCain didn't learn from that either since despite clearly being an affirmative action candidate to the Naval Academy he opposed affirmative action policies as a Senator.

McCain's speech doesn't make up for all those pass DEEDS.

Neither does Hillary's pathetic speech today. She threw black Americans under the buss just like she hurled that bookbag across the room the day King was assasinated.

So let me get this straight:

Bill earns $6 million for a book called "Giving" about how great charity is

Gives only $1 million charity

Pockets $5 million????!!!!

LOL. I think Rev. Wright was right -- the Clintons are "riding us dirty" like he was "riding Monica".

Okay, here is my new theory.

If nothing abnormal shows up in the tax returns, everyone is going to ask, "Why the hell did they wait so long to release them?" Are the Clintons just pathologically private? Perhaps.

But I'm hypothesizing that the Clinton Camp kept the tax returns in their back pocket as an in-case-of-emergency diversionary tactic. This morning the Penn-Colombia story broke and a few hours later they released the returns and, what do you know, everyone is now pre-occupied with digging through them and the Penn story has fizzled out.

The Penn story isn't dead.

It's just getting warmed up. MLK day, tax returns...

by the Sunday talk shows SOMEBODY will be mentioning it, just in time for the weekly news cycle.

One thing about having no primary until the 22, we have plenty of time to expose Hillary.

It would be interesting to see the K-1's from the long-term capital gains and losses, especially pre-Yucapai. A lot will be focused on Yucapai with the Dubai money earned by Bill.

The imputed loans do not seem like a big deal, but it may be a disguised gift to a relative. If the Clinton's have used their lifetime gifts of $1 mil each, a gift of $100k would have a gift tax due of at least $39k and possibly up to $45k. However, if the $100k is a loan, they would only pay income tax on the interest not collected. So on a 6% interest rate, they will only pay $2100 in federal income tax ($6000 earned on $100k at 35% bracket)

Just some initial observations.

In the words of our illustrious VP, "So?"

All this energy spent on being so against HRC would be better spent on McWar McCain.

The money amounts do not surprise me. So what if a former president and wife have made so much money. Actually I would be surprised if they hadn't.

Their money isn't the issue here. We need to get back to basics in the party and talk issues in a dignified responsible way. If not, there's going to be another Repub in the White House to deal with.

And remember this. One day Barack Obama will be just as wealthy.

I haven't read all the posts in this thread, but am I going to be the first one to point out that the Clinton's have been excellent beneficiaries of the Bush tax cuts for the rich?

Of course, they deserve whatever tax breaks the law allows, but I have never heard of either Clinton going public against Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy, and that was enacted I believe in 2003?

Should TPM Muckraker do a review of the Clinton's stance on the Bush tax cut? Why would it be relevant? Well, because Clinton is positioning herself as the defender of the little guy, but is benefiting greatly from Bush's tax policies.

Why did she not position herself against the tax cut when she had a chance? Or did she? What does the record show?

I have been to a bunch of blogs and news sites and there isn't even a place to comment

is the Mark Penn Columbia story done now?

will everyone focus on the taxes and forget about Penn?

For those of you interested in the Obama's paltry charitable giving, the Chicago Tribune had a great article linked below. I'll pull out a few highlights, but the whole article is highly informative. Charity, helping your fellow man - apparently "Just words."

I for one thing the Clinton tax return just serves to refocus attention on Obama's returns and not in a favorable way:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0704250022apr25,1,1209388.story

Giving, service and compassion are recurrent themes on the campaign trail for Sen. Barack Obama, but the Democratic presidential contender has only recently dug deep into his own pockets to support charitable causes.

Obama has enjoyed a robust household income throughout his political career in the Illinois Senate and the U.S. Senate. But for most of that time he has reported comparatively little by national standards in charitable contributions on his tax returns, records released by Obama show.

In 2002, the year before Obama launched his campaign for U.S. Senate, the Obamas reported income of $259,394, ranking them in the top 2 percent of U.S. households, according to Census Bureau statistics. That year the Obamas claimed $1,050 in deductions for gifts to charity, or 0.4 percent of their income. The average U.S. household totaled $1,872 in gifts to charity in 2002, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

The national average for charitable giving has long hovered at 2.2 percent of household income, according to the Glenview-based Giving USA Foundation, which tracks trends in philanthropy. Obama tax returns dating to 1997 show he fell well below that benchmark until 2005, the year he arrived in Washington.

Both Obama and his wife, Michelle, declined to respond to questions about their charitable donations.

Only a few of the tax returns released by Obama detail the recipients of his charity. In 1998, when the Obamas reported a combined household income of $191,146 and $1,100 in cash donations to charity, the biggest gift went to Trinity. It totaled $400, about 0.2 percent of their combined income.

In 2005 they gave the church $5,000 and in 2006 it received $22,500. Over the past two years, the Obamas have claimed charitable deductions for $45,000 in gifts to reading programs; $31,000 to CARE, an international aid group; $13,107 to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; and $5,000 to the Muntu Dance Theatre. Michelle Obama serves on the board of directors of the South Side dance troupe.

the only thing the returns demonstrate is that HRC is nothing more than a greedy, anti-american candidate advocating for the the super-rich and the sexually permissive....