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Putting pressure on Trump, Clinton releases 2015 tax returns

The Democratic presidential nominee’s 2015 tax returns, which she filed jointly with her husband Bill Clinton, show that the couple paid a federal tax rate of 34.2 percent and donated 9.8 percent of their income to charity. Buffett proposed an additional tax law that states anyone making more than $1 million should be required to pay a minimum of 30 percent in federal income taxes.

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The Clintons main sources of income were Mr Clinton s paid speeches, to the tune of $5.2 million, and a payment to Hillary Clinton from the publisher of her last book, Simon & Schuster, for three million dollars.

The returns show that the Clintons’ made about $10 million last year, which is a significant drop from the year before, when the duo reported a combined income of about $28 million. That is the financial vehicle the family uses to give money to museums, schools, churches and other charitable causes.

An Associated Press investigation found that at least 60 firms and organizations that had sponsored Clinton speeches had lobbied the USA government at some point during the Obama administration. 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.

Trump has refused to release his tax returns until an audit conducted by a special division known as the “Wealth Squad” of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US’ tax authority, is completed.

All major U.S. presidential candidates in modern history have released their returns.

If Trump does not make public the details of his taxes, he would be the first major party presidential nominee to decline to do so since Richard M. Nixon.

Donald Trump, despite facing a great deal of criticism over the issue, still hasn’t released his tax returns, something the Clinton campaign continues to try and draw negative attention to.

Democrats believe Trump’s returns could be a trove of politically damaging information.

Hillary Clinton on Friday did something every major party’s presidential nominee has done since 1976, with the sole exception of the man she is now running against: She released her tax returns.

Protesters at Trump afternoon rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, held up signs reading “Tax Forms” before being escorted out by security.

Clinton’s strategy is borrowed from President Barack Obama’s winning playbook against Mitt Romney in 2012.

And on Friday, her vice presidential pick, Tim Kaine, followed suit, and released his tax returns for the last decade.

A lower income would undermine his image as a successful businessman. The returns also show that Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, gave less than 8 percent of their income to charity. The Clintons made about 90 times more, reporting almost $28 million for the same year.

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But for months, financial experts have pointed out that nothing prevents a person from releasing his or her personal tax records during an audit.

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