Hillary Clinton has released her tax returns for 2015, showing the Democratic presidential nominee paid slightly more than 34 percent of her income in federal taxes a year ago.
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While technically anyone making more than $415,000 per year is subject to a 39.6 percent tax rate, there are a wide array of tax breaks that allow them to lower that rate substantially, often well below the rates paid by middle-income earners.
According to their joint return, the Clintons made $10.6 million in 2015, significantly less than the almost $28 million they made the year before when the former secretary of state was still doing paid speaking engagements.
“He has failed to provide the public with the most basic financial information disclosed by every major candidate in the last 40 years”, she added.
The pressure has been mounting on Trump to release his taxes as people speculate he could have paid as little as zero income taxes.
Clinton and her running mate, vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine, released their tax returns Friday.
It is customary for US presidential candidates to make their tax returns public, although they are not required by law to do so. The Clintons over the years have made public details of their income taxes as far back as 1977, the campaign said. “We want to see the pay-for-play e-mails that Clinton’s Chief of Staff, Cheryl Mills, refuses to turn over”, Mr. Miller said.
The billionaire businessman has said he is not releasing his tax returns until the IRS finishes an audit of him.
Over the last decade, the couple has donated 7.5 per cent of their income to charity, the campaign said, and paid an effective tax rate of 25.6 per cent previous year. “What is he trying to hide?”, said Jennifer Palmieri.
Trump presented the Federal Election Commission with a mandatory personal financial disclosure form in May and says this is enough.
As for Trump, his returns showing vast wealth wouldn’t be a political problem.
What’s in Donald Trump’s tax returns?
The power couple reported earning $10.7 million in income in 2015, and claimed a tax liability of $3.6 million.
In 2014, the Clintons made $28,336,212 in total income, deducted $5,159,242, and paid $9,981,350 in total taxes, according to a tax return posted on the campaign’s website. In all, the news organization reports, they gave a combined 729 speeches from February 2001 until mid-2015, “receiving an average payday of $210,795 for each address”. Kaine and Holton had a small amount of earnings from investments, but nearly the entirety of their income came from their salaries: Kaine’s income as a United States senator and Holton’s from her work as the state of Virginia’s secretary of education.
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Most of the income came from Clinton’s speaking fees as Hillary has been campaigning for president. In 2015, the couple made an adjusted gross income of $10.6 million.
