Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton smiles while taking pictures with supporters at Futuramic Tool & Engineering in Warren, Michigan.
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Hillary Clinton released her 2015 tax returns Friday, showing that she made a combined $10 million past year and paid about a third of that in federal income taxes.
The filing shows that the Clintons paid a federal tax rate of 34.2 per cent.
Clinton’s tax filings indicate she made $3 million in book sales and made more than $1.1 million in profits from speeches. Of the the $1,042,000 the Clintons gave to charity as listed on their return, $1 million of that went to the Clinton Family Foundation. He has repeatedly refused to do so, because, he says, he is now being audited by Internal Revenue Service.
Hillary Clinton attends a campaign rally in Kissimmee, Florida, on Monday.
Departing from 40 years of tradition for presidential candidates, Trump has so far refused to release any of his tax returns for public inspection.
Democrats believe Trump’s returns could be treasure trove of politically damaging information. Trump is not required as a candidate to reveal his taxes, but he has submitted his personal financial disclosure form outlining his business interests, which he is obligated to file.
But billionaire Mr Trump has declined to release his, arguing that his tax returns for the past several years are being audited.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Clinton’s strategy is borrowed from President Barack Obama’s winning playbook against Mitt Romney in 2012.
“This document release is nothing more than an attempt at distraction and misdirection by an individual who created and then purged an illegal private email server”, Trump senior communications adviser Jason Miller said in a statement.
It’s comments like those that Clinton has seized to try to contrast her “serious, steady leadership” with the more volatile approach she says Trump would take to running the country.
The Clintons’ 2015 return showed that, unlike most Americans, just $100 of their income came from wages.
The Clintons have raked in $153 million in speaking fees since President Clinton left office, according to CNN.
“He refuses to do what every other presidential candidate in decades has done and release his tax returns”, Hillary Clinton said during a speech in MI.
Clinton delivered six paid speeches in 2015, including one to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
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But Clinton’s own returns bring her some unwanted attention too, notably to her and her husband’s extraordinary income, derived primarily through speaking fees.
