Politics

Clintons Earned $500G in 1998

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 13, 1999 / 2:39 PM EDT / CBS

President and Mrs. Clinton's federal income tax returns show they had a total income of $509,345 in 1998. The Clintons paid $89,951 in federal income taxes on their earnings.

The first couple overpaid, though, and are entitled to a $4,267 refund, which they chose to apply to their 1999 income taxes

Their 1998 return closely mirrored their taxes from the previous year. The first family reported $569,511 in adjusted gross income for 1997, and they paid $91,964 in federal taxes.

Separately, Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, released their tax forms, showing they paid $52,951 in federal taxes for 1998 on adjusted gross income of $224,132.

After being criticized last year for giving only $353 to charity in 1997, the Gores reported giving $15,197 in 1998, mostly to groups that support the homeless, the mentally ill and religious and educational organizations.

The Clintons reported $509,345 in total income, which was reduced to $504,109 in adjusted gross income after deduction of self-employment taxes.

Their income sources included $200,000 from his salary as president, $16,665 in interest, $16,736 in dividends, $1,329 in taxable refunds or credits, $74,289 in business income and $200,318 in capital gains.

The dividend and interest income includes $12,000 from a trust fund established in 1912 for whomever is the spouse of the president. The first lady will contribute that money to charity, as she has in prior years, the White House said.

The Clintons took a $161,938 deduction for charitable gifts, including $99,220 for gifts in 1998 and $62,718 in gifts carried over from the previous year.

The $74,289 in business income came from profits generated by books written by Clinton's wife, Hillary. Last year she released a book about letters from children to the family's cat, Socks, and dog, Buddy. Earlier, she wrote a book about children called, It Takes a Village.

White House press secretary Joe Lockhart said that all book income, minus taxes and administrative expenses, would be donated to charity.

The first family received $53,462 in short-term capital gains and $146,856 in long-term capital gains both from the Pell Rudman Trust Co., which holds a private trust for the Clintons. The arrangement shields the Clintons from involvement with their investments and prevents public disclosure of their income sources.