Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) became the latest Democratic presidential candidate to release his tax returns on Wednesday, ramping up the pressure on President Donald Trump to do the same.
Booker’s release shows an adjusted gross income of $152,715 last year, with about 19% of that income going toward federal taxes. He’s earned significantly more in previous years, largely due to the release of his 2016 memoir, “United,” and lucrative speaking gigs when he served as the mayor of Newark from 2009 to 2013.
He donated 16% of his 2018 income to charities ― a significant amount compared with the 2% or less given by most of his 2020 opponents who’ve also released their tax returns. His tax returns show that he donated at least $20,000 or more annually to charitable causes over the last decade, with more than $240,000 given in 2013.
Booker follows Sens. Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke in the decision to release tax returns.
Trump has long shirked requests that he do the same, defying decades of precedent for presidential candidates. On Tuesday, his administration said it would not abide by House Democrats’ request for the documents, leaving it up to courts to decide whether the Treasury Department must comply with tax disclosure laws.