NJ’s millionaire governor boosted his income by 48 percent in 2017
Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday gave a glimpse of his 2017 tax returns, showing that his income climbed by about 48 percent to $6.8 million in 2017.
Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive who invested $22.5 million in his campaign for governor last year, released two pages from his 1040 form as well as a summary of income and taxes paid going back to 2010.
He criticized President Donald Trump, who did not release his taxes during his presidential campaign in 2016, despite not publicizing all his own returns from 2017. His office says news reporters may view his full 2017 returns later this week.
"In stark contrast to President Trump, we believe New Jerseyans have a right to transparency and openness," Murphy said in a statement. "Operating with the spirit of those values, we are releasing our tax returns today."
The documents show Murphy and first lady Tammy Murphy had a taxable income of $5.1 million and paid $2.2 million in federal and state taxes.
Their effective tax rate was 32.8 percent, up from 32 percent in 2016.
Last year, about $1 million came from dividends. Roughly $5.8 million came from capital gains.
The document shows about $603,000 went to charity.
Murphy handled his tax returns similarly during last year's campaign, permitting reporters to pore over hundreds of pages for a few hours and barring them from making copies.
At the time, Murphy pushed back against comparisons to Trump, who broke with decades of presidential candidate tradition by failing to release his tax returns.
Asked whether some people should worry about what's in his taxes, Murphy denied there was a comparison between him and Trump during an editorial board meeting with the Asbury Park Press.
"I mean, Trump has done nothing," he said at the time. "That's un-American."
Murphy's predecessor, Republican Chris Christie, who was elected to two terms and barred by term limits from running again, posted his tax returns on the state's website.
Murphy took office in January and has said he plans to accept the $175,000 a year salary that comes with the job.