Kerry Spot    [ jim geraghty reporting ]
[ kerry spot home | archives | email ]

Hey, it's a late-Friday-afternoon document dump!

Specifically, the Kerry campaign finally releases Teresa's tax returns.

John Kerry's near-billionaire wife, Teresa, reported more than $5 million in total income last year but paid only 12.5 percent in federal taxes — less than the average middle-class family — according to documents released yesterday by his campaign. Teresa Heinz Kerry reported a total income of $5,072,533, including nearly $2.8 million that escaped all federal taxes because it was on interest-free investments from state, city and other public bonds.

She paid $628,401 in federal taxes, or a rate of 12.47 percent. The average middle-class family pays more than 20 percent.

Mrs. Kerry's rate is barely above the lowest rate of 10 percent for the lowest-income Americans subject to taxes.

President Bush and wife Laura reported paying $227,490 in federal taxes on income of $822,126 or a 27.7 percent rate — more than double the rate paid by Mrs. Kerry. The Bushes reported no tax-exempt interest income.

"It's clear that Mrs. Kerry has found every nook and cranny in the federal tax code to shelter her income," said Stephen Moore of the conservative Club for Growth.

"For a couple that keep insisting the rich should pay their fair share, it's pretty clear that the Kerrys don't pay their fair share," Moore added.

He noted that Mrs. Kerry also escapes the 7.65 percent in Social Security (FICA) payroll taxes paid by middle-class families up to $87,000 in income because her income — derived from the estate of her late first husband, ketchup heir John Heinz — isn't from salary.

I don't begrudge Teresa her use of tax shelters. Anyone who has the sensibly self-interested view that they want to keep as much of what they earn as possible would do the same.

However, for Mr. Heinz-Kerry to turn around and claim that the "richest one percent" are not paying their "fair share" is, of course, the rankest hypocrisy.

Of course, no one on either side of the aisle who is as rich as Teresa and Mr. Heinz-Kerry actually does their own taxes, so why should anyone expect them to understand the way taxes affect Joe and Jane Six-Pack?

[Posted 10/16 02:09 PM]