Hillary and Bill Clinton released their 2015 tax returns on Friday night, CNBC reports, showing that they had an adjusted gross income of $10.6 million past year, on which they paid an effective federal tax rate of around 34 percent ($3.6 million).
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According to the returns, in 2015, the Clintons paid an effective federal income tax rate of 34.2 per cent and an effective state and local income tax rate of nine per cent for a combined federal, state, and local effective tax rate of 43.2 per cent. The Clinton campaign also says that the couple gave 9.8 percent of their adjusted gross income to charity, though nearly all of it went to their charity, the Clinton Family Foundation.
“Here’s a pretty incredible fact: There is a non-zero chance that Donald Trump isn’t paying (asterisk) any (asterisk) taxes”, Clinton tweeted, after releasing her own returns.
Her running mate Tim Kaine, along with his wife Anne Holton, paid a rate of 20.3 per cent, his returns show.
“Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine continue to set the standard for financial transparency”, said Clinton’s campaign aide Jennifer Palmieri in a statement. What is he trying to hide?’
The statements covered the years 2007 to 2014, which showed the income the Clintons had brought in since her original run for the White House, through her years as President Obama’s secretary of state.
All major U.S. presidential candidates in modern history have released their returns. The bulk of their income – more than $6 million – came from speaking fees for appearances made largely before Hillary Clinton launched her campaign in April 2015.
In some form or another, Clinton has made hers public for every year since 1977. The Clintons made about 90 times more, reporting almost $28 million for the same year.
The bulk of their income came from speeches delivered to corporate and interest groups, which paid Bill Clinton and later Hillary Clinton after she resigned as secretary of state in early 2013.
That claim, rated “mostly false” by Politifact, didn’t take into account the two large real estate assets – the Clintons’ houses in NY and Washington, D.C. – and the couple’s earning potential from Bill Clinton being a former president, the website noted. Trump has said that he’s under an audit by the Internal Revenue Service and won’t release his returns until that audit is concluded – which may not happen before the November 8 election.
Democrats believe Trump’s returns could be a trove of politically damaging information.
Trump has so far declined to release his, arguing that his tax returns for the past several years are being audited. Trump also has said his taxes are no one’s business and that they reveal little. Clinton has endorsed a rule named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett that would ensure those making more than $1 million a year pay a tax rate of at least 30 percent.
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Since then, the campaign doubled down on that position, saying in late July that Trump wouldn’t release his returns until after Election Day.
