Beto O’ Rourke announced his 2020 run for president, saying “we are truly now, more than ever, the last great hope of Earth.”
USA TODAY
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke became the latest presidential candidate to release his tax returns Monday, following other 2020 hopefuls including Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris.
O’Rourke, and his wife, Amy Sanders O’Rourke, who filed joint returns for 2008 through 2017, reported total income of $370,412 in 2017, the latest year reported.
The couple plans to release its 2018 tax return “as soon as possible after they are filed,” according to a campaign news release.
“This follows his commitment to increasing accountability and transparency,” the campaign reported.
O’Rourke and his wife’s largest annual income in the 10-year period was $496,280 in 2009, when they reported a $272,775 gain from an investment partnership.
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The couple’s lowest reported income in the 10-year period was $163,539 in 2012, the year after O’Rourke left the El Paso City Council, and just before he took his seat as a United States congressman in January 2013.
In 2017, the O’Rourkes reported selling Stanton Street Technology, the El Paso Internet web design firm started by Beto O’Rourke about 20 years ago, for $300,000, making a net gain of $195,627 after costs. However, they ended up losing $3,000 after all capital gains and losses were calculated for that year, according to their income tax return.
O’Rourke earned $162,211 for serving in Congress in 2017, according to his tax return. It also showed $53,364 in income from his wife, who works for the Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development, or CREEED, an El Paso business leaders group aimed at improving education levels in the El Paso area. She is the group’s Choose to Excel director, according to its website.
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The O’Rourkes paid $81,019 in federal income tax in 2017. And they paid $88,798 in 2009, when they had their largest reported income.
Other Democratic presidential candidates have released their tax returns, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and California Sen. Kamala Harris.
Sanders’ 2018 return showed he and his wife, Jane, earned more than $550,000, including $133,000 in income from his Senate salary and $391,000 in sales of his book, “Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In,” the Associated Press reported.
He made more than $1 million in 2017 from his U.S. Senate salary and sales and royalties from his books.
Harris’ 2018 returns showed she and her husband had an adjusted gross joint income of about $1.9 million last year, The AP reported.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter.
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