Following up on a promise made earlier this week, Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, released his 2011 federal and state tax returns Wednesday.
Murphy and his wife Catherine Holahan reported joint salaries of $220,125 and no other income except $160 from a refund on last year’s taxes. Murphy’s congressional salary is $174,000.
Murphy and his wife also reported $36,779 in deductions and a federal tax liability of $45,499. The couple also paid $11,423 in Connecticut state taxes.
The Murphy campaign determined that the congressman’s federal tax rate was 22.4 percent.
A supporter of the “Buffett Rule,” Murphy is part of a group of Democrats in Congress who want to implement President Obama’s proposal to raise taxes on the investment income of Americans earning more than $1 million a year.
“This is a fundamental question of fairness,” said Murphy. “The fact that many millionaires pay less in taxes than 99 percent of working families is simply not fair, and only adds to our ballooning deficit.”
Legislation that would implement the Buffett Rule, however, faltered in the Senate this week and isn’t likely to win congressional approval.