President and Mrs. George W. Bush reported taxable income of $618,694 for the tax year 2005. This resulted in a total of $187,768 in federal income taxes paid by President and Mrs. Bush.

The President’s 2005 income included salary earned as President and investment income from the trusts in which their assets are held.

President and Mrs. Bush contributed $75,560 to churches and charitable organizations, including the American Red Cross – Hurricane 2005 Relief, the Salvation Army – Hurricane 2005 Relief, the Salvation Army – Pakistan Earthquake Relief, Martha’s Table, the Archdiocese of New Orleans Catholic Charities, the Mississippi Food Network, and the Federal Government’s Combined Federal Campaign.

And the Cheney's...

Vice President and Mrs. Cheney released their 2005 federal income tax return today. The return shows that the Cheneys owe federal taxes for 2005 of $529,636 on taxable income of $1,961,157. The Cheneys’ adjusted gross income in 2005 was $8,819,006 which was largely the result of the exercise by an independent gift administrator of stock options that had been irrevocably set aside in 2001 for charity. The Cheneys donated $6,869,655 to charity in 2005 from the exercise of these stock options under the terms of the Gift Administration Agreement and from Mrs. Cheney’s book royalties from Simon & Schuster on her books America: A Patriotic Primer, A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Woman, and When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots. As provided in the Gift Administration Agreement, gifts were made to three designated charities named in that Agreement. The Cheneys’ return was filed on March 20, 2006.

During the course of 2005 the Cheneys paid $2,468,566 in taxes through withholding and estimated tax payments. Taxes were withheld from their salaries and from the net proceeds of stock options that were exercised under the Gift Administration Agreement. Given that the option proceeds were dedicated to charity, there was a substantial over withholding in 2005 from the income attributable to the exercise of the stock options, which reduced the amount available for charity in 2005.

To enable the gift administrator to maximize the charitable gifts in 2005, the year in which the options were exercised, the Cheneys wrote a personal check in December 2005 to the gift administrator in the amount of $2,331,400. That amount, combined with the net proceeds from the stock options, was given to the three designated charities by the gift administrator. As a consequence, the Cheneys are entitled to a refund of $1,938,930. This refund returns the Cheneys to a neutral position of no personal financial benefit or financial detriment resulting from the transactions under the Gift Administration Agreement. Thus, the Cheneys received no financial benefit from the stock options. The transactions were tax neutral to the Cheneys. The amount of taxes paid by the Cheneys from their income, other than the income from the exercise of the stock options, was the equivalent of what they would have paid if the options had not been exercised.

In a press release of March 5, 2001, the Cheneys reported that they had established the Gift Administration Agreement on January 18, 2001 to donate all net after tax proceeds from various stock options that the Vice President had earned at Halliburton and for their service on the boards of directors of other companies to three designated charities--George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, Inc. for the benefit of the Cardiothoracic Institute, the University of Wyoming for the benefit of the University of Wyoming Foundation, and Capital Partners for Education for the benefit of low-income high school students in the Washington, D.C. area. By entering into the Gift Administration Agreement the Cheneys divested themselves of the economic benefit of the options and granted the gift administrator full discretion, power and control over the options. The Agreement directed the gift administrator to maximize the gifts to the three charities while avoiding financial or after tax benefit or detriment to the Cheneys.

The wage and salary income reported on the tax return includes the Vice President’s $205,031 government salary. In addition, the tax return reports the payment of deferred compensation from income earned in 1999 from Halliburton Company in the amount of $211,465. In December 1998, the Vice President elected to defer compensation earned in calendar year 1999 for his services as chief executive officer of Halliburton. This amount was required to be paid in fixed annual installments (with interest) in the five years after the Vice President’s retirement from Halliburton and thus could not be paid in a lump sum prior to his taking office. That election to defer income became final and unalterable before Mr. Cheney left Halliburton. The amount of deferred compensation received by the Vice President is fixed and is not affected in any way by Halliburton’s current economic performance or earnings. This 2005 payment closes out the payments under the deferred compensation plan. The tax return also reports Mrs. Cheney’s royalty income from her book A Time for Freedom: What Happened When in America, salary income from the American Enterprise Institute, and a director’s retirement benefit from Reader’s Digest, on whose board of directors she served until 2003.

Posted by Matt at April 14, 2006 01:52 PM

Trackback Pings

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference The Tax Returns of The Bush's and Cheney's...:

Iowa Voice linked with Bush And Cheney's Tax Returns Released
The White House released the President's (press release here) and Vice President's (press release here) tax returns. Blogs For Bush has a post up, with a run-down of what they owe, what they earned, etc.
[Read More]

Tracked on April 14, 2006 04:18 PM

Cripes! Nearly $7 million to charity! I wonder how much Kerry gave?

Posted by: Mark Noonan at April 14, 2006 02:26 PM

---

From what I've seen of his wife's finances, Kerry is the charity.

Posted by: Bane of Liberals' Existence at April 14, 2006 03:22 PM

---

Gosh, those guys are sooo MEAN!;)

Posted by: CeCe at April 14, 2006 04:06 PM

---

Gore and Kerry gave almost nothing the charity in both years they ran and their taxes were revealed. They both had lower tax payments too because of their tax shelters.

Oh the hypocrisy from the left.

Posted by: Warriornation at April 14, 2006 04:55 PM

---

That is the best you could do is blast Gore and Kerry about charity????
Well, since Gore ran agaist Bush 6 yrs ago and Kerry 2 years ago... lets bring this up from two years ago....

From 2004:
President and Mrs. Bush reported $784,219 in total income on their tax return.
They paid $207,307 in income tax, $28,846 less than under the pre-Bush tax
law.
Vice-president and Mrs. Cheney reported $2,173,892 in total income on their
tax return. They paid $365,840 in income tax, $81,336 less than under the pre-
Bush tax law.
For comparison's sake, according to a Treasury Department fact sheet, the tax cuts saved Americans nationwide an average of $1,716 in 2005. But that number is misleading, since it factors in big winners like the Bushes and
Cheneys. According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the average tax cut for middle-class Americans was $742
--------
Average to Middle-class $742
Bush $28,000
Cheney $81,000

I forget, who does Bush's tax cuts help?
Oh yeah... we are still $9 trillion in the red.

Posted by: Sick of Lies at April 14, 2006 05:14 PM

---

SOL,
You're a half empty kind of guy aren't you?
You missed the obvious so I’ll point it out for you ... Bush paid $187,768 in Federal taxes, 30% of his income. Cheney paid $529,636 in Federal taxes 27% of his income.

I'd say they pay their fair share.

Posted by: Bane of Liberals' Existence at April 14, 2006 05:48 PM

---

Bane,

But that doesn't fit into leftwing talking points...and I'd like to know the number of prominent liberals who gave $7 million to charity last year...

Posted by: Mark Noonan at April 14, 2006 11:32 PM

---

When is john kerry gonna sign form 180.

Posted by: james allegro at April 15, 2006 01:36 AM

---

The Cheneys' charitable generosity stands in marked contrast to that of their predecessors, whose sometimes stingy donations became a national embarassment.

In 1997 for instance, Al and Tipper Gore contributed just $353 to charity, a sum that raised eyebrows even in friendly media circles.

The Los Angeles Times noted, for instance, that the Gores' slender donation "caused some bewilderment in philanthropic circles because of the vice president's 'good guy' image as an advocate for public service and social causes."

The same year the Gores gave $353 to charity, they reported $197,729 in adjusted gross income.

Posted by: Jim at April 15, 2006 03:30 AM

---

Regarding Bush and Cheny's Income Tax Returns

Bodacious. What a model of success, achievement and generosity. Good Form folks!

Joe Stout

Posted by: Joe Stout at April 15, 2006 09:54 AM

---

But that doesn't fit into leftwing talking points...and I'd like to know the number of prominent liberals who gave $7 million to charity last year...

Mark, does that include the millions Soros, Nees, and Ickes donated to the left-wing 527's?

Sorry, I misunderstood--you said charities, not charity cases...

Posted by: keefer at April 16, 2006 07:16 AM

---

Oh come on SOL, whatever happened to Cheney started the war in Iraq to make money(ya know, halliburton, oil, etc.)! I kinda liked that one!

Posted by: bearmanUSMC at April 17, 2006 01:33 AM

---