Release of Hillary Clinton's Income Tax Report Increases Pressure on Trump

Hillary and Bill Clinton released their income tax report on Friday, August 12, showing they earned $10.6 million last year. The release of the Clintons' tax returns increases pressure on Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, who has so far refused to disclose his income and taxes. According to the Associated Press, the tax report indicates that the Clintons paid 34.2% of their income in taxes for 2015. A significant portion of their income—over $6 million—came from the couple's speaking engagements before Hillary Clinton's campaign began last April. Hillary Clinton earned $1.4 million from her speeches and $3 million from her book publication. Bill Clinton earned $5.2 million from his speeches and $1.6 million from consulting. The Clintons donated over $1 million of their income to charity. In 2014, they had over $28 million in income, nearly three times last year's earnings. The Associated Press notes that the release of Hillary Clinton's tax report is part of her effort to pressure Donald Trump to disclose his income and taxes as a Republican candidate in the presidential election. Mr. Trump has yet to make his financial activities public, stating multiple times that his tax situation is under review by the IRS, and he will release it once the review is complete. All major presidential candidates in the U.S. have traditionally released their income tax reports for transparency over the past 40 years. Hillary Clinton has repeatedly pointed out that Trump's tax report would help us understand how his economic policies serve his personal interests and clarify how wealthy he is. His low income would undermine the image Trump has created of himself as a successful businessman. Democrats believe that the release of Trump's tax report could be a political vulnerability for him. They are looking into his tax payments, charitable contributions, and business dealings with foreign governments. Moments after releasing her tax report, Clinton tweeted: 'This is an amazing document: there is no doubt that Donald Trump paid less than zero in taxes.' Clinton's campaign also released a 10-year tax report for Tim Kaine, the Democratic nominee's running mate, and his wife, Anne Holton, showing that the couple has donated 7.5% of their income to charity over the past 10 years and paid 25.6% of their income in taxes last year. Along with the tax reports, the Democratic nominee's campaign included a video in which Republicans urge Donald Trump to clarify and disclose his income tax status. Hillary and Bill Clinton have consistently disclosed their income and taxes since 1977.