If his tax returns tell the story accurately, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, is a skinflint.
In 2017, he and his wife claimed a total income of $370,412, according to the 10 years’ worth of tax returns they released this week. That same year, which is the most recent filing available, the O’Rourkes reported only $1,166 in charitable deductions. The former congressman and 2020 presidential candidate gave one-third of 1% of his total income to charity.
In simpler terms, O’Rourke is a big time cheapskate.
[Read: Beto O’Rourke underpaid taxes in 2013, 2014]
He does not see it that way, though. You see, running for office is itself kind of like making a charitable contribution, O’Rourke said this week.
The White House hopeful was asked Tuesday evening during a campaign event in Charlottesville, Va., to explain his paltry charitable donations. The questioner mentioned that O’Rourke’s sister donates far more despite making far less.
“I served in public office since 2005. I do my best to contribute to the success of my community, my state, and now my country. There are ways that I do this that are measurable … There are charities that we donate to that we’ve recorded and itemized — others that we’ve donated to that we have not,” the former congressman said.
He added, “But I’ll tell you that I’m doing everything I can right now, spending this time with you, not with our kiddos, not back home in El Paso, because I want to sacrifice everything to make sure that we meet this moment of truth with everything we’ve got. So if you have not read those tax returns, they’re online now for your scrutiny. Just know this: I will continue to try to be as transparent and as forthcoming as I possibly can be in answering your questions and posting that financial information online.”
Boy, that is big of him.
Funnily enough, on Wednesday, O’Rourke revised his answer to the question of his 2017 charitable giving, telling reporters that he actually donated far more that year but did not claim it on his taxes because he was not interested in the deductions. Mmm-hmm.
“We’ve made donations to so many organizations in small amounts, in the hundreds of dollars, in larger amounts, in the thousands of dollars. This is beyond what’s itemized and reflected in our taxes,” he said, adding his family “just didn’t report it because it wasn’t important for us to take the deduction. Never thought it would be an issue, because I didn’t expect to release my taxes cause I never thought that I’d be running for president.”
“In addition to the dollar amount, our time,” he said, further defending his charitable giving. “We’ve donated time on the boards of nonprofits and certainly in public service and public life.”
O’Rourke also said he plans to contact the organizations that supposedly benefitted from his unreported charity to see if they can provide records of his donations. We eagerly await the results.
Oh, also, it looks like the O’Rourkes underpaid their 2013 and 2014 taxes by more than $4,000 because of how they reported medical expenses, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“They took deductions for those costs without regard to the limit that only allowed that break for medical and dental expenses above 10% of income for people their age,” journalist Richard Rubin notes. “Had they not taken the nearly $16,000 in medical deductions, their taxable income would have been higher. In those years it would likely have been subject to the rates they were paying under the alternative minimum tax.”
For no reason at all, I feel like mentioning that O’Rourke married into billionaire money. I am not saying this adds to the cheapskate flavor we get from his charitable giving, or apparent lack thereof. But I am not not saying that either. Just thought you would like to know.
