Obama income falls to $477,000 in 2014 as book sales slow

[April 11, 2015]  By Julia Edwards
 
 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle earned $477,383 in 2014, a decline over the past few years as sales of the president's biographies declined, according to their tax return released by the White House on Friday.

Obama is paid $400,000 for his position as the U.S. president. For 2014, the couple paid $93,362 in income taxes.

The couple's return showed they gave $70,712 to 33 charities with the largest gift of $22,012 going to Fisher House Foundation, which houses military families while a relative receives treatment.

Most of the Obamas' income above his government salary came from publishers Dystel and Goderich and Random House, and interest, according to the return.

The Obamas earned $503,183 in 2013 and $662,076 in 2012. Barack Obama's highest income since becoming the 44th president was in 2009, the year he took office, when he reported income of $5.5 million, which included book sales and the Nobel Peace Prize.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, a community college professor, also released their tax returns on Friday, reporting a combined income of $388,844.

(Reporting By Julia Edwards; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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