AP: Texas AG Greg Abbott releases tax returns ($3,014 in 2012 to charity)

KTRK13 ^ | 08/30/2013 | AP

[TexGrill]

AUSTIN, TX -- Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott released personal tax returns Friday that show the Republican gubernatorial candidate earning about $200,000 a year but does not reflect millions of tax-exempt dollars made from a settlement following his 1984 accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Abbott has received more than $5 million and counting from suing the owner of a tree that fell on him during a jog as a young law student. That money is not taxable income, which is common in personal injury settlements. But it also makes his federal tax returns since 2010 an incomplete picture of the wealth of Texas' top cop, who is the early favorite to replace Gov. Rick Perry in 2014.

Abbott provided The Associated Press with copies of his 2010-12 returns. But in an interview with AP, he would not commit to releasing earlier filings.

"This covers a solid background since I last ran for election," said Abbott, who was first elected attorney general in 2002.

Abbott pledged to release future tax returns as governor. But asked about his aversion to releasing previous years, Abbott said, "I just think this is a good standard."

It is a stance that contrasts with Perry, who released his tax returns dating to the 1990s during campaigns that made him Texas' longest-serving governor. He has said candidates running for public office should be transparent with federal tax filings.

[TexGrill]

I did some calculations. 3 years of tax returns: $1,468,400 of family income for 2010-2012. AG salary + wife's salary + lawsuit settlement funds. 3 years of charitable donations = $12,060. That means he had given less than 1 percent of his total income to charity, which would also include to religious organizations or charities. Meanwhile, his campaign team is sitting on a war chest of $25 million.

[txrefugee]

Where is the charitable giving comparison between Greg Abbott and Bill Clinton? Bill and Hillary got credit for his underwear as “charitable giving” and the media thought that was fine.

The anal exam of every Republican candidate for office by the Marxist press is getting tiresome.

[Starstruck]

That means he had given less than 1 percent of his total income to charity, which would also include to religious organizations or charities. Meanwhile, his campaign team is sitting on a war chest of $25 million.

What do his campaign funds have to do with his charitable contributions? I don't see a correlation.

[JCBreckenridge]

Why are you posting leftist swill here?

[Resolute Conservative]

I don’t put much stock in this, I don’t claim my donations or tithes on my taxes. The Bible says give without expecting a return nor for the attention. It is nobody’s business how much he, I, or anybody gives.