Bushes paid US $187,000 in taxes

WASHINGTON -- President Bush and the first lady paid about $187,000 in federal taxes this year on income of about $735,000. Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife made more than 10 times as much, overpaid taxes, and are looking for a $1.9 million refund.

According to the president's tax return released yesterday by the White House, the Bushes had adjusted gross income of $735,180 -- about $50,000 less than the year before.

The couple paid $187,768 in federal taxes for last year -- about $19,500 less than they paid the Internal Revenue Service for 2004.

Their income included Bush's presidential salary -- about $400,000 -- and investment income from trusts that hold their assets.

The Bushes contributed $75,560 -- about 10 percent of their income -- to churches and charitable organizations. Those included the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army's funds for hurricane relief in the United States and earthquake aid in Pakistan.

The Bushes paid $26,172 in state property taxes on their ranch near Crawford, Texas, up about $4,000 from the year before.

The Cheneys reported adjusted gross income of nearly $8.82 million, a number largely padded with income they received by exercising stock options that had been set aside in 2001 for charity.

The Cheneys donated about $6.87 million to charity from the stock options and royalties earned on Mrs. Cheney's books: ''America: A Patriotic Primer," ''A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women" and ''When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots."