Paterson's Taxes Reveal He Shed Lots of Old Rags Last Year

Governor Paterson has discovered the gift of charity in his first year as the state's head honcho. Yesterday Paterson's tax returns were made public, showing that he and his wife Michelle got a $4,300 refund for the over $61,000 in federal taxes they had paid and owed another $182 on top of the $27,000 plus in state and local taxes paid out. Some of that federal refund can be attributed to the $11,000 the Patersons donated this past year. Soon after taking over for Eliot Spitzer last year, it was revealed that the only donation that came out of the nearly $270,000 in income the couple earned in 2007 was a $150 worth of clothes they gave to The Salvation Army. This year The Sal made out like bandits with the Patersons donating over $1,400 in used clothing. Other beneficiaries of the couple's charity included the National Federation of the Blind; City Meals; 100 Black Men; Hadassah; the American Foundation of the Blind; League of the Hard of Hearing; Hispanic Federation; and WNYC Hear It Now.