Cheney Took in $178,437 from Halliburton in 2003 (misleading headline alert)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040413/pl_nm/bush_cheney_taxes_dc_2 ^ | Steve Holland

[Sofa King]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) received $178,437 in deferred pay last year from Halliburton, the Texas oil-field services company he once headed that has received billion-dollar government contracts in Iraq (news - web sites).

Reuters Photo

The White House on Tuesday released the 2003 income tax returns for both Cheney and his wife, Lynne, and President Bush (news - web sites) and his wife, Laura.

Cheney's office said the income from Halliburton -- which was close to his salary as vice president -- was in no way linked to the financial health of the company. A Halliburton subsidiary is under investigation for possibly overcharging the U.S military for fuel supplies in Iraq.

The Bushes' taxable income was virtually unchanged from 2002. It was reported at $727,083, after deductions of $95,043. Their income included his salary earned as president -- $397,264 -- and investment income from the trusts in which their assets are held.

[Sofa King]

Once again, the media takes advantage of a non-story to expose us to a misleading headline.

Didn't they try this last year too?

[Wheee The People]

Yawnnnnnnn....how much did Bill Clinton make last year? And where did he "take" it from? AlGore?

[TheLion]

"Consider the Source"!

[Michael.SF.]

The Bushes ... contributed $68,360 to churches and charitable organizations.

The Cheneys donated $321,141 to charity in 2003,

Funny, they do not mention those figures in the headlines.

[Fintan]

Funny how we'll probably never see tax returns for John Kerry, either or both Clintons, Teddy Kennedy, Ted Koppel, Katie "The Perkster" Couric, Gov. McGreavey (D-NJ), Peter Jennings, "Puff" Daschle, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson (a return I'd love to see), Tommy Brokaw, Ted Turner, Babs Streisand, Timmy Robbins or Michael Moore.

Just to name a few...

[ShandaLear]

How much did JeffinK donate (of his own money, that is)?

[Weimdog]

In 2003, Sen. John Kerry had $395,000 in taxable income and paid $90,575 in federal income taxes. Kerry had $43,735 in charitable contributions.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20040413/pl_usnw/kerry_releases_2003_income_tax_returns150_xml

[timydnuc]

Ah yes, another brilliant story from the DNC and "Roto Reuters".

Excuse me while I step into the shower.

[Weimdog]

Here's a little tidbit to add to your thread -

Kerry, whose total income was up dramatically from $144,091 in 2002, augmented his $147,818 in wages with $89,000 from the sale of his book ``A Call to Service''...and $145,000 in capital gains from the sale of a half interest in a painting last year.

Kerry had $43,735 in charitable contributions among his $48,674 in itemized deductions, which included more than $9,000 in medical and dental expenses and more than $3,000 in home mortgage interest.

As a footnote, the New York Times' treatment of Cheney's tax situation is also absurd. After lots of early discussion of the low effective tax rate paid by the Cheneys, we get this, buried near the bottom:

Generosity helped account for the Cheneys' relatively low tax rate. The Cheneys donated $321,141 to charity, mostly royalties from Mrs. Cheney's books...

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2004/04/kerrys_taxes_ke.html