Obamas release tax returns

• Tweet

WASHINGTON, April 13 (UPI) -- President Obama will pay more in taxes to the U.S. government if his tax plans take effect, a spokesman said Friday as the Obamas released their returns.

For 2011, the president and first lady Michelle Obama reported $789,674 in income and paid $162,074 in taxes, an effective rate of 20.5 percent, the White House said in a blog post. They paid an additional $31,914 to the state of Illinois.

"Under the president's own tax proposals ... he would pay more in taxes while ensuring we cut taxes for the middle class and those trying to get in it," Jay Carney, Obama's press secretary, said.

Obama has been calling for a roll-back of the Bush tax cuts for those in the highest brackets and pushing the "Buffett rule" that would change the tax treatment of capital gains and dividends and give billionaire Warren Buffett the same effective tax rate as his secretary.

The Obamas' tax returns showed the couple donated about 22 percent of their income to charity, with the largest gift $117,130 to the Fisher House Foundation. About half of their income was from his salary as president, with most of the rest from book royalties.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, reported an income of $379,035 for the year. They paid a total of $105,357 in income tax to the federal government and the states of Delaware and Virginia.