US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported adjusted gross income of US$481,098 for last year, down 21 percent from 2012, according to tax returns released on Friday by the White House.
The Obamas paid US$98,169 in federal taxes, including US$2,310 imposed by the 2010 Affordable Care Act that he signed, under an effective income tax rate of 20.4 percent.
“In 2013, as a result of his policies, the president was subject to limitations in tax preferences, as well as additional Medicare and investment income taxes, for high-income earners,” press secretary Jay Carney said in a blog post on the White House Web site.
The Obamas are not affected by the higher marginal tax rates that took effect last year because their taxable income is less than US$450,000. The president proposed a US$250,000 threshold for higher rates before compromising with Republicans.
The Obamas donated US$59,251 to charity last year, down from US$150,034 the year before. Their largest donation of US$8,751 went to the Fisher House Foundation, which provides temporary housing for families near military and veterans’ hospitals.
The president, 52, made less last year than he did in any year since 2004, when he gave a speech at the US Democratic Party National Convention that made him a national figure.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
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