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(This post was written by CBS News' Ryan Corsaro and Brian Montopoli.)

The Obama campaign released 10 years of Sen. Joe Biden’s tax returns today. You can see them here. As the returns show, Biden makes a relatively modest income compared to his Senate colleagues.

There are a few reasons for this: Neither Biden nor his wife, Jill, with whom he filed jointly, have enormous personal wealth. Jill is a teacher – not a high-paying job. And Biden has been in the Senate for almost his entire working career, unlike many of his colleagues who have worked in the private sector for a larger paycheck.

Joint income between Biden and his wife Jill rose from $215,000 to $249,000 between 1998 and 2006. These numbers reflect the total of Joe Biden's Senate salary, his Widener University School of Law teaching salary, and Jill Biden's teaching salary.

The Bidens give little to charity. 2007, in which they donated $995, was their most generous year, though in other years Biden donated honoraria from talk shows which were valued at higher amounts.

The Bidens make almost no money each year from dividends or interest. They deduct only state/local taxes, mortgage interest and what he donates to charity. 2003 was the last year they claimed a dependent child -- their daughter, Ashley.

Under the Obama tax plan, Biden’s taxes would go up because of his tax bracket. To see how, check out the CBS Evening News video on how the Obama and McCain tax plans differ here.

As Politico notes, the release of Biden's tax returns is at least in part a move to pressure GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to do the same; Palin has faced some questions about her personal income after reports that she billed the state for nights she spent at home. Republicans, meanwhile, are agitating for Biden to release past earmark requests.

Here’s a breakdown on the numbers from CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

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Cindy McCain says the public is not entitled to see her tax returns.

"You know, my husband and I have been married 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years," McCain told "Today." "This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate."

McCain, an heiress to a major beer distribution company who is thought to be worth around $100 million, said she had no plans to release her returns even if she becomes first lady.

During the 2004 campaign, Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wealthy wife of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, came under pressure to release her returns from newspaper editorial pages and conservative critics. She eventually released part of her returns.

The New York Times has called on Cindy McCain to release her returns, as it did with Teresa Heinz Kerry four years ago.

"There is no question that Mr. McCain benefits from his wife’s money, including his low-cost use during the campaign of a corporate jet owned by a company headed by Mrs. McCain," the newspaper wrote.

It added: "Mrs. McCain, the daughter of a multimillionaire Anheuser-Busch distributor, is not the candidate, but the need to gain public trust and to air potential conflicts of interest is vital."

John McCain recently released two years worth of tax returns, and reported a 2007 income of roughly $405,000. He and his wife signed a prenuptial agreement before they were married. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton file jointly with their spouses and have released their returns.

Barack Obama and his wife have released their 2007 tax returns. The candidate reports a total income of $4.2 million last year. The Clinton campaign has been pushing Obama to release his returns; Hillary Clinton and her husband released returnsdating back to the end of Bill Clinton's presidency on April 4th.

The Obamas’ 2007 federal tax return is available here.

The vast majority of Obama's income – about $4 million – came from his two books, "Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope."

The Obama campaign announced this afternoon it has posted the candidate's tax returns on its Web site and challenges Clinton to do the same.

"The returns are complete, including all schedules, and are now available to anyone to view," the campaign announced in a statement. "The Obama campaign urged Senator Clinton to join Senator Obama in making her returns public. Full disclosure on Senator Clinton’s part is especially important because she recently loaned $5 million to her campaign, shortly after revelations surfaced that her husband was to receive a $20 million payout from Yucaipa, a supermarket holding company that invests in tax shelters in the Cayman Islands."

As for some highlights, the Obama and his wife Michelle reported joint income of $991,296 in 2006 (the most recent year released) which included $430,700 in salaries and $506,618 in reported business income. In 2005, their income was $1,670,995 – a huge jump from 2004, when the couple reported earning $207,342. One interesting note, in 2006, the couple reported donating $60,307 to charity, including $22,500 to the Trinity United Church of Christ.

The CBS News political unit provides a look at some of the numbers from the returns:

2006: Joint income totaled $991,296 (includes $430,700 combined salaries; $506,618 business income and $51,200 from Treehouse Foods, where Michelle sat on the corporate board). Breakdowns of the above numbers aren't immediately available. Also, the couple donated $60,307 to charity (includes $22,500 to Trinity United Church of Christ; $15,000 to CARE; $13,107 to the Congressional Black Caucus; $5,000 to Muntu Theatre and $4,700 to miscellaneous charities)

2005: Joint income totaled $1,670,995 (includes $154,047 for B. Obama's Senate salary; $316,962 for Michelle's University of Chicago Hospital salary; $874,167 from Random House; $335,206 from Dystel & Goodrich and $45,000 in "other income" from Treehouse Foods and Bay Valley Foods, where Michelle sat on the corporate board). They gave $77,315 to charity (includes $5,000 to Trinity Church of Christ; $11,315 to misc. charities; $25,000 to Illinois Reading Council; $20,500 to Rochelle Lee Fund and $16,000 to CARE)

2004: Joint income totaled $207,342 (includes $32,144 to B. Obama from University of Chicago; $53,288 state senator salary and $121,910 for Michelle's University of Chicago Hospital salary). The couple gave $2,500 in miscellaneous charity contributions.

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