Charity begins at Capitol Hill in United States

WASHINGTON, April 14: As much of the United States worked itself into a lather trying to beat the April 15 midnight deadline for filing tax ...

WASHINGTON, April 14: As much of the United States worked itself into a lather trying to beat the April 15 midnight deadline for filing tax returns, it was disclosed that President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton gave away nearly $ 270,000 (about Rs 1.1 crores) to charity despite legal debts of millions of dollars because of the sexual harassment suit and other cases.

Unlike in India, where the income of its leaders is neither disclosed nor discussed, Americans get a free look at the tax declarations of their President, and the White House releases the figures with considerable relish just short of the deadline when the First Couple files their returns.

The Clintons’ financial record attracts considerable interest because of their controversial investments and expenses in the form of legal bills.

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Although the President’s annual income is only $ 200,000, Clinton got an extra $ 76 in 1997 as royalty for a saxophone gig he played on a TV show in 1992 to tote up $ 200,076. But for the secondyear running, the First Lady out-earned him, thanks to the $ 280,898 royalty she got from Simon and Schuster for her 1996 book It Takes A Village. They got another $ 85,000 in interest and dividend income and capital gains for a net combined income of $ 569.511.

But true to their pledge that they will not profit from the book, the Clintons gave away all the royalty money to charity. In all, Hillary has given away $ 840,000 she has got as royalty from the book over two years, including some $ 750,000 (before taxes) she got last year. Still, the generosity of the First Couple did not prevent a rap from critics for poor tax planning.

The Clintons’ tax returns showed the First Lady has earned more than a million dollars in royalty from the book over two years. Experts cribbed that instead of channeling all the money into charity through a foundation, the Clintons accepted it first as income and paid tax on it before turning the remains over to charity, causing charitable causes to be poorer by some $ 200,000,although the money went to the coffers of Uncle Sam. Besides the royalty from the book, the Clintons gave an additional $ 8,300 from their income to charity. The White House did not disclose what charities the Clintons gave to. Spokesman Barry Toiv said, "They’re approached enough as it is by charitable organisations looking for donations."

For the first time, Chelsea Clinton also filed her tax returns, paying $ 1,106 to her father’s Government on an income of $ 8,447, most of it earned from a blind trust in her name. Vice-President Al Gore (who has an annual income of $ 171,500) and his wife Tipper Gore also declared an income of $ 197,729 and paid $ 47,662 in taxes on that income.