Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

SOME - NOT ALL - CANDIDATES REVEAL FINANCES

THREE of the five leading Democratic candidates for mayor have provided access to their personal tax returns, and all of them show family incomes of at least $175,000 a year.

THREE of the five leading Democratic candidates for mayor have provided access to their personal tax returns, and all of them show family incomes of at least $175,000 a year.

A fourth candidate, state Rep. Dwight Evans, promises to provide his tax returns soon.

One candidate, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, declined to let the Daily News see his tax returns.

A Fattah spokeswoman said he is legally prohibited from sharing his returns, because he files jointly with his wife, Channel 10 news anchor Renee Chenault-Fattah, and her television contract bars disclosure of its terms.

But Fattah's campaign refused to provide the exact language in his wife's contract, and a Channel 10 spokeswoman would not confirm Fattah's explanation, saying only that the station doesn't comment on personnel matters.

By far the wealthiest in the group is multi-millionaire Tom Knox, whose income averaged $6.2 million per year over the last three years. The bulk of it came from the sale of his health-insurance business, the Maryland-based Fidelity Insurance Group, to United Healthcare.

Knox and his wife, Linda, paid $2.7 million in taxes to the federal government over the three-year period.

But because of reduced tax rates on long-term capital gains, the Knoxes paid the IRS a smaller percentage of their overall income than did his mayoral opponents.

Their effective tax rate was just 12 percent, compared with 15 percent for former City Councilman Michael Nutter and his wife, Lisa, and 21 percent for U.S. Rep. Bob Brady and his wife, Debra.

Although the Knoxes gave more in charitable contributions than either the Bradys or Nutters, it was the lowest as a percentage of income.

For the most recent three years available, the Knoxes reported $147,077 in cash and in-kind charitable gifts, about 0.7 percent of their income.

The Bradys reported $8,087 in charitable gifts, about 0.8 percent of their income.

The Nutters gave $9,321 to charity over three years, about 1.4 percent of their income.

Here's a quick look at the returns of the three candidates who've revealed their tax returns so far:

TOM KNOX

Family income with wife Linda:

2003 - $1,108,979

2004 - $11,297,678

2005 - $6,368,772

Knox's income varied widely from one year to the next, as he received installment payments from the sale of Fidelity Insurance.

Most of the $1.1 million he earned in 2003 was from a variety of real-estate partnerships and other investments, apparently unrelated to Fidelity.

In 2004, Knox got $8.8 million from the Fidelity sale. In 2005, there was another $3.1 million.

But apart from those major chunks of income, the Knoxes appeared to profit handsomely from a network of partnerships in real estate, stocks, bonds and other investments, filling page after page on his tax returns.

Apart from $5.7 million in capital gains in 2005 - including that year's payment from United - Knox and his wife reported $442,000 in wages, $650,000 in interest payments, and another $650,000 in dividends.

Knox's returns don't show a particularly strong philanthropic streak. In 2003, he reported charitable gifts of $5,628 on income of more than $1.1 million.

The following year, when Knox made more than $11 million, he gave only $3,645 to charity by cash or check, but also took a $17,000 deduction for a 1972 Mercedes he donated to Meals on Wheels in Wilmington, Del.

In 2005, Knox donated $5,038 worth of appreciated stock to St. Bridget's Parish in East Falls and another $10,027 to the Caron Foundation, a nonprofit group running alcohol and drug treatment facilities in Philadelphia, New York City, Florida and Wernersville, Pa.

Roman Catholic High School got an antique clock appraised at $9,500, nearly twice what the Knoxes paid for it.

MICHAEL NUTTER

Family income with wife Lisa:

2004 - $139,383

2005 - $175,179

2006 - $176,742

Nutter's City Council salary was the biggest part of the family's income, peaking at $91,298 in 2005. He resigned last summer and briefly held a job with the consulting firm Econsult, before deciding he didn't have enough time for it.

Lisa Nutter is president of Philadelphia Academies Inc., which develops professional internships and curricula for public schools. The job paid $96,827 last year, according to their tax return.

BOB BRADY

Family income with wife Debra:

2003 - $242,792

2004 - $228,686

2005 - $246,428

Brady's congressional salary, now more than $160,000 a year, provided the bulk of the couple's income in 2005. It was supplemented by an $8,577 pension from Brady's years in city government and Debra's $100,000 salary as executive director of Philadelphia Writ Service Inc., a firm owned by Mitchell Rubin, chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and a close friend of state Sen. Vincent Fumo, one of Brady's strong political allies.

Debra Brady also earned $9,600 as a consultant, but lost $17,215 on a couple of business ventures - a motel in North Wildwood and a security-monitoring business. *