Gillibrand releases tax return, paid $29,000 in federal taxes

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Wednesday disclosed her 2018 tax filing, which showed she paid about $29,000 in federal income taxes and which made her the first of the 2020 contenders to release their latest returns.

Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) reported an adjusted gross income of more than $214,000 — her Senate salary of about $167,000, a $50,000 book payment and a $3,000 capital gains loss. Gillibrand had an effective tax rate of 13.6 percent and made $3,750 in charitable donations.

“For public servants, releasing your tax returns shows the American people that you work only for them, not the powerful,” Gillibrand said in a statement, calling on other Democratic candidates to follow suit.

Gillibrand and her husband, Jonathan, a financial consultant, saw a tax cut after the passage of the sweeping GOP tax law. Their 2017 filing shows they paid about $56,000 in federal income taxes on adjusted gross income of more than $248,000.

The senator has posted her tax returns dating to 2007, when she first took elected office, as a congresswoman.

She told CNN’s “New Day” she believes Americans have a right to see the tax filings of “people who are running for president and are president today.”

President Donald Trump did not release his tax returns when he ran for president in 2016 and has said he is under audit.

Gillibrand, 52, of upstate Brunswick, is struggling to break through the crowded field of Democrats seeking to replace Trump in the White House. She kicked off her official campaign on March 17 after launching an exploratory committee on Jan. 15.

She had 2 percent support in a Fox News poll earlier this month on Democratic presidential hopefuls. She is competing against better-known figures including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas). Former Vice President Joe Biden, who has not announced his bid, was the top Democratic choice in the Fox poll.

Sanders’ and O’Rourke’s campaigns each announced they had raised around $6 million in their first 24 hours. Gillibrand’s exploratory committee and campaign have not yet released their fundraising numbers.