October 16, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
In 2007, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican candidate for vice president, and her husband, Todd Palin, donated $2,500 to charity in cash donations and $825 in noncash gifts, for a total of $3,325 — 2 percent of their adjusted gross income, according to the couple’s federal tax returns. The year before, the couple donated $4,250 to charity in cash and $630 in noncash donations, for a total of $4,880 — or 3.8 percent of their adjusted gross income.
That’s a far lower percentage than that given by Ms. Palin’s running mate, Sen. John McCain, who gave 26 percent of his $405,409 income to charity, according to his 2007 tax returns. In 2006, he donated 18 percent — $64,695 of $358,414 in income — to charitable efforts.
Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, and his wife, Michelle Obama, donated $240,370 to charity over the last year, which represents 5.7 percent of their income, according to their tax return for 2007.
At the bottom of the pack, Sen. Joseph Biden, the Democratic pick for vice president, claimed $995 in charitable gifts in 2007 on the joint return with his wife, Jill Biden. That figure was 0.3 percent of the couple’s total income of nearly $320,000.
The 2007 contributions were significantly higher than the couple’s gifts in previous years, which ranged from $120 to $380.
