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Jeb Bush releases 33 years of tax returns; net worth up to $22 million

By Tomas Monzon
Former Governor Jeb Bush announces his candidacy for the President of The United States during a rally at the Theodore Gibson Health Center of Miami-Dade College, Kendall Campus in Miami, Florida, June 15, 2015, Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI. ..
1 of 3 | Former Governor Jeb Bush announces his candidacy for the President of The United States during a rally at the Theodore Gibson Health Center of Miami-Dade College, Kendall Campus in Miami, Florida, June 15, 2015, Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI. .. | License Photo

MIAMI, July 1 (UPI) -- 2016 Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush released 33 years of tax returns on Tuesday, which show his net worth of up to $22 million.

Setting the record for largest amount of tax returns to be made public -- followed by Senator Bob Dole who in 1996 released 30 years of returns -- Bush's tax returns showed that he earned about $23.6 million from speaking engagements, board memberships and various consulting and business engagements since leaving the Office of the Governor in 2007, with a 770 percent upsurge in income within his first year out.

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1981 to 2013 tax returns are available on Bush's campaign website. Bush requested an extension for filing 2014 taxes.

Bush and his wife Columba http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/06/30/jeb-bush-reports-7-3-million-in-income-on-2013-return/ reported their highest annual income in 2013, at $7.3 million, $2.9 million of which was taxed at a 40 percent tax rate.

Bush said that his wealth allowed for large contributions to charity, a total of $739,511 between 2007 and 2014, 3.1 percent of his income.

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He also claimed that he has paid a higher tax rate than the Clintons -- who currently claim a net worth of about 55 million -- despite earning less income. His total tax payments stand at $13 million in taxes, more than 250 times than what the average American worker earns in a year.

Bush conceded that he felt blessed by his economic situation. He said his motive for releasing the info was not only to demonstrate transparency with voters but also to highlight the higher relative fortunes and income tax rate differences between himself and other past and present candidates.

The news accompanies the final release of Bush's emails from his time as Governor, which he finished making public in May 2014 after seven years of releasing them in batches.

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