New York, Apr 16 : President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama earned 2.73 million dollars in income in 2008, according to their tax statements.

President Obama and the First Lady invested 47,000 dollars on their daughters' education last year. They also poured thousands more into trusts for their kids, according to the First Couple's tax returns released on Wednesday by the White House.

The Obamas could afford to be generous to their children, thanks to raking in 2.73 million, mostly from sales of Obama's books, "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope", down from the 4.2 million dollars they made in 2007.

Of course, lots of their cash went to the government, with 855,323 dollars forked over to the IRS, and well as an additional 77,883 dollars to the State of Illinois, the Daily News reported.

The President and First Lady also contributed 172,050 dollars to 37 charities, giving away about 6.5 percent of their taxable income. The biggest payout was 25,000 dollars to the NAACP.

One organization that wasn't among those listed as recipients of the Obama largess, was his former church, the Trinity United Church of Christ, which he quit during the campaign because of its controversial pastor.

Before releasing the numbers, Obama held himself up as an example of the kind of person who should be willing to roll back his tax rate to what it was in the 1990s.

Vice President Biden made less than a tenth of what his Obama did, but he was a lot more than a tenth less generous.

Biden and his wife, Jill, earned adjusted gross income of 269,256 dollars, and gave away 1,885 dollars, including 550 dollars worth of old clothes.

The Bidens paid 46,952 dollars in federal income taxes and 11,164 dollars in Delaware taxes. 2008. (ANI)