Romney and his wife gave 29.4 percent of their income to charity in 2011. Romney gives more to charity than Obama, Biden

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was far more generous to charities than President Barack Obama or Vice President Joe Biden last year, both in dollar terms and as a percentage of income, tax return data Romney’s campaign released Friday indicate.

Romney and his wife, Ann, gave 29.4 percent of their income to charity in 2011, donating $4,020,772 out of the $13,696,951 they took in.


( Also on POLITICO: Romney releases 2011 tax returns)

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama gave 21.8 percent of their income to charitable organizations last year, donating $172,130 out of the $789,674 they made.

Biden and his wife, Jill, gave 1.5 percent of their income away in 2011, with charitable donations totaling $5,540 out of $379,035.

Republicans have mocked Obama and especially Biden for being unusually tight-fisted when it comes to making charitable gifts.

When the Obama campaign released past tax returns for Biden in 2008, it was revealed that the Bidens donated just $3,690 to charity over 10 years — an average of $369 a year.

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“I do pay a higher effective tax rate than President Obama. And I do make more charitable contributions as a percentage of my income than either he or the vice president,” Rove said during a POLITICO Playbook breakfast at the Republican National Convention last month.

“Of course, that’s not hard when it’s compared with Vice President Biden. I think he’s getting his tips on charitable giving from Hillary Clinton pre-1992, you know, mark up the underwear and give it away to Goodwill.”

( Also on POLITICO: See and download Romney's 2011 tax return)

Rove was alluding to tax returns the Clintons released showing they’d taken $2 deductions for donating old underwear to charity.

Romney didn’t deduct all of his charitable donations for last year. He left $1.8 million in donations off his return in order to live up to a statement he made about always having paid at least a 13 percent tax rate on his income. With his charity write-offs partially held back, Romney overshot that mark a bit for 2011, paying at a 14.1 percent rate.