Cory Booker's tax returns show an eye-popping financial stat that sets him apart from every other 2020 Democrat
- Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey and current 2020 presidential candidate, released 10 years of his tax returns on Wednesday evening - and one financial stat stands out compared to the other Democratic candidates.
- In 2018, Booker made $152,639 (his US Senate salary); he paid $22,781 in federal taxes and he donated $24,000 to charity.
- His charitable donation amount equals a little more than 15% of his 2018 income, and it makes him the Democratic candidate who gave the largest monetary percentage of his salary to charity.
- One other difference in Booker's tax returns? Unlike the other candidates he doesn't file jointly with a spouse. Booker is dating actress Rosario Dawson, but he is not married.
- Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.
Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey and current 2020 presidential candidate, released 10 years of tax returns on Wednesday evening - and one financial stat stands out compared to the other Democratic candidates.
In 2018, Booker made $152,639 (his US Senate salary); he paid $22,781 in federal taxes (a 19% tax rate); and he donated $24,000 to charity.
His charitable donation amount equals a little more than 15% of his 2018 income, and it makes him the Democratic candidate who gave the largest monetary percentage of his salary to charity.
Here's how he stacks up compared to other 2018 Democrats vying for the White House, according to calculations from The Washington Post:
- Sen. Bernie Sanders and his wife gave 3.4% of their $566,000 income
- Sen. Kamala Harris and her husband gave around 1.4% of their $1.9 million income
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren and her husband gave 5.5% of their $906,000 income
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar and her husband gave less than 2% of their $338,500 income
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and her husband also gave less than 2% of their $215,000 income
- Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington state and his wife gave around 4% of their $203,000 income
- Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke and his wife gave 0.3% of their $370,412 income in 2017 (the most recent year released)
- President Donald Trump has infamously resisted releasing his tax returns, so we don't know the percentage donated. Overall, Trump's charitable giving has been the source of investigations, including Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold's Pulitzer Prize-winning articles casting doubt on Trump's charitable donations and Trump Foundation. The Trump Foundation was dissolved last year amidst accusations of "persistently illegal conduct" from the New York attorney general.
Cumulatively, Booker gave roughly $460,000 in charitable donations over the last 10 years, CNN reported.
Booker's tax returns also reveal that prior to 2018, a bulk of his income came from royalties and private speaking fees. "Booker reported $2 million in public speaking fees from 2009 to 2014 and $987,077 in royalties from 2015 to 2017," Politico reported.
One other difference in Booker's tax returns? Unlike the other candidates we know of so far, he doesn't file jointly with a spouse. Booker is dating actress Rosario Dawson, but he is not married.