All the buzz is about what President Barack Obama paid in 2008 tax return. The presidency of Obama has been all about transparency. Transparency is an open book to the American public on what is going on in Washington in regards to the economy the country's budget.

President Barack Obama has set up Recovery.gov as a transparency website to let the American public know the progress of the $787 recovery plan. The $787 Economic Stimulus Package was passed into law on February 17, 2009 officially under the name of the Economic Reinvestment and Recovery Act with the main purpose of getting the country out of the recession.

President Barack Obama filed his tax return jointly with his wife Michelle. President Barack Obama paid $855,000 in federal taxes and $78,000 in state taxes. President Barack Obama's salary for the tax year 2008 was $2,656,902. Presidents are considered public servants and normally do not make $2 million a year. President Barack Obama had an increased salary because of proceeds and royalties from his two published books, "Dreams from My Father," and "The Audacity of Hope." The $2,656,902 was filed as President Barack Obama's adjusted gross income.

President Barack Obama made $4.2 million in 2007 a $2 million drop to the $2 million adjusted gross income made in 2008. $2.6 million of President Barack Obama's tax return reported as income is attributed to his 2007 book sales.

President Barack Obama tax returns were released on April 15, 2009 from the White House. The release of President Barack Obama's tax returns were of no surprise to the American public as he has pledged transparency in his administration of government information. President Barack Obama reported salary was about $200,000 with added investment income.

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle received a $26,000 refund that they requested` be applied to their next year tax returns. A further transparent look at President Barack Obama's 2008 tax returns shows that $172,050 was donated to charities. The charities that President Barack Obama donated included CARE and the United Negro College Fund. Twenty-five thousand dollars of President Barack Obama donations went to CARE and the United Negro College Fund equally for an aggregate charitable contribution of $50,000 out of the $172,050 charitable donations.

President Barack Obama did not donate to the controversial church that sprung up during his 2008 campaign, the United Church of Christ located in Chicago. The church overseer is the Reverend Wright who became a major campaign issue during the 2008 elections. President Barack Obama denounced the church during his 2008 presidential campaign.

President Barack Obama's tax return adjusted gross income from the sell of his two nonfiction books, "Dreams from My Father," and "The Audacity of Hope" placed him in a prestigious place in the writing genre as an accomplished author. President Barack Obama 's proceeds from those book sales accounted for the additional $2 million income made in 2007.

President Barack Obama income for 2007 reached $4.1 million attributed mostly to the sale of both of the mostly autobiographical books. President Barack Obama sale of his autobiographical books also but him in the higher echelon of accomplished writers. President Barack Obama also paid a hefty amount of federal income taxes because of the income made on the sale of the books.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill earned an adjusted income of $270.000 on their tax returns the New York Times noted. The Biden's income tax return salary was one-tenth the adjusted income of President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. Biden paid $47,000 in federal income taxes on his tax return and donated $1,885 to charity.