Cindy McCain, the wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, had an income of $4.2m in 2007 and paid $1.1m in taxes. The figures were released on Friday evening six months after the official deadline April 15.
Mrs McCain exercised the right of all American taxpayers to extend the deadline by up to six months. She said she had not received the necessary information to complete the returns in April. She had initially resisted releasing her tax returns, citing disclosures the couple made in Senate filings. The tax return indicates that most of Cindy McCain's income – about $2.9 million – came from rental real estate, royalties, partnerships and trusts. The heir to a beer distributorship, McCain also has several homes, including rental properties. She also reported $746,000 in capital gains and paid herself a salary of $297,000 for chairing the family firm. She was doing considerably better in 2006, when she reported an income of $6.1 million. The McCain campaign even attempted to portray Mrs McCain as a victim of the financial downturn, pointing out that her reduced income is because of tougher times for her company Hensley & Co. Although the couple has always reported their income separately, the release of the latest figures is likely to renew scrutiny of Mr McCain's family wealth. The Arizona senator promptly released his tax returns on April 18, showing a total income in 2007 of $419,000, largely from his Senate salary, book royalties and retirement income. Earlier this year McCain became the object of jokes when he could not remember the number of properties he and his spouse owned. Democratic rival Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, made their returns public earlier this year, reporting $4.2 million in 2007 income, most of it profits from his books, “Dreams From My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope.” Related links Obama-Palin are spam dream team Rabbi key to Obama’s bid for Jewish vote Wildlife defenders new headache for McCain & Palin