Governor pledges to give more to charity

Attention all charitable organizations: Some of you could soon be hearing from Gov. Mark Dayton, and he may have his wallet open.

Dayton said today that he was “embarrassed” that he donated only $1,000 to charity in 2012. The number came out Tuesday, when the governor voluntarily released his tax forms.  They showed his total income last year was $343,234.

To be fair, the rather miserly showing in 2012 was a change for the governor. Dayton reported about $8,100 in contributions to charity in 2011.

“I pride myself on my charitable giving, and I just was disappointed in myself to total it up and realize I had really fallen off,” Dayton said. “So, I will remedy that this year. “

The DFL governor’s total income for 2012 included salary, dividends, and capital gains.  Dayton, who is heir to his family’s department store fortune, paid $64,157 in federal income taxes and $24,990 in state taxes.

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