Felicia Sonmez | The Washington Post
Former congressman Beto O’Rourke released 10 years’ worth of tax returns Monday night, becoming the latest 2020 presidential contender to reveal information about his personal finances.
The Democratic candidate’s disclosure came shortly after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is also running for president, released his tax returns dating back to 2009.
The returns show that O’Rourke and his wife, Amy, made more than $370,000 in 2017, the most recent year for which they released returns. That amount includes O’Rourke’s $162,211 salary as a member of Congress representing Texas and more than $11,000 from Stanton Street Technology, an El Paso, Texas-based internet company O’Rourke co-founded in 1999.
It also includes about $53,000 in income from the Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development, or CREEED. Amy O’Rourke has worked as a consultant for the philanthropic organization, which aims to improve the academic performance of students in the El Paso area.
Earlier in the day, O’Rourke told reporters that he would release his tax returns in an effort to be transparent with voters – and he criticized President Donald Trump for not doing the same.
“If he must be compelled through a subpoena to do so, so be it,” O’Rourke said, following a town hall in Charlotte on Monday morning. “But everyone who runs to seek that office should release their taxes.”
The O’Rourkes paid about $81,000 in taxes in 2017, giving them an effective tax rate of 21.9 percent. The couple had a little less than $25,000 withheld during that year and paid the remainder – along with a $1,250 penalty – after requesting a filing extension, the forms show.
Of the 10 years for which the couple released their tax returns, their income was lowest in 2012, when O’Rourke made his first run for Congress; they made about $164,000 that year. The O’Rourkes’ income was highest in 2009, when they made more than $496,000.
Other Democratic presidential candidates who have recently released tax returns include Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
