Evanston’s candidate for governor, State Sen. Daniel Biss, released tax returns today that show that on average he paid just $337 a year in federal income taxes over the past five years.
Biss and his wife, NU PhD candidate Karin Steinbrueck, averaged $54,936 in annual adjusted gross income over the same period, substantially less than the median household income in Evanston of $70,041.
Child care expense credits for their two sons and significant itemized deductions, mostly for home mortgage interest and property taxes, helped cut their tax liability almost to the vanishing point.
Their only significant investment income came from a single-family rental property they own in Champaign, Illinois.
The family’s income was dramatically reduced last year because of delays in salary payments to state lawmakers because of the state’s budget crisis.
Biss has introduced legislation that would require presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns as a condition of appearing on the ballot in Illinois.
He has also called on the other Democratic candidates for governor to release their tax returns.
Biss said, “Voters have the right to be confident that their elected officials are doing things for the right reasons, and that they are putting the interest of the people first.”
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