Elections

Clintons made $10.6 million in 2015, paid federal rate of 34%

Hillary Clinton releases 2015 tax returns
VIDEO3:4603:46
Hillary Clinton releases 2015 tax returns

Hillary and Bill Clinton released their 2015 tax returns on Friday, showing they paid $3.6 million in taxes on adjusted gross income of $10.6 million.

The release appeared to be aimed at drawing renewed attention to Donald Trump's refusal to release his own tax records.

The Clintons deducted $2.24 million last year, and paid an effective federal tax rate of 34.2 percent and an effective combined tax rate of 43.2 percent. They gave 9.8 percent of their adjusted gross income to charity, according to a campaign release.

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. The other $42,000 went to Desert Classic Charities.

Hillary Clinton also listed $1.475 million in gross income from speaking, and Bill reported $5.25 million in gross income from speaking. No details were provided on those speaking engagements.

The Clintons made $10.7 million in total income, but reported an adjusted gross income of $10.6 million due to a self-employment tax deduction.

Other significant sources of income included $3 million in book proceeds for Hillary, and $1.6 million for Bill's consulting with GEMS Education, an international education company, and Laureate Education, Inc., a for-profit education chain.

In 2014, the Clintons reported $28.3 million in total income, deducted $5.1 million, and paid $9.9 million in total taxes, according to a tax return posted on the campaign's website. They paid an effective combined tax rate of 45.8 percent in 2014, according to the site.

The Clintons have paid more than $43 million in federal taxes and more than $14 million in charitable contributions since 2007, according to the campaign's website.

Clinton's running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and wife Anne Holton, also released 10 years of their own tax returns. They paid an effective combined tax rate of 25.6 percent in 2015, according to the release.

Clinton's previous returns from 2007 through 2014 were already posted on her website. The campaign noted that the couple have now released all their tax returns dating to 1977.

The campaign also posted a video highlighting Republican leaders who have previously called on Trump to release his tax returns or questioned what the lack of disclosure may mean.

Tweet 1

Those in the video include Mitt Romney, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

The Trump campaign responded to the release late Friday afternoon, calling for the disclosure of documents related to the Clinton Foundation and Benghazi it said would be more revealing.

"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.

If Trump continues to withhold his tax returns, it would break with decades of precedent for major party presidential nominees.

Trump previously told conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt in February 2015 that he would release returns, before pivoting to say he was waiting until the outcome of an IRS audit of his taxes.

Tweet 2

However, several people including billionaire Warren Buffett have pushed back on that assertion. Buffett went so far as to tell Trump he was under audit as well, and wanted to make the GOP nominee an offer.

"I'm under audit, too, and I would be delighted to meet him anyplace, anytime, between now and election," Buffett said at a Clinton rally. "I'll bring my tax return, he can bring his tax return, nobody is going to arrest us, there are no rules against showing your tax returns, and just let people ask us questions about the items that are on there."

UPDATED: This story was updated to include comments from Donald Trump senior communications adviser Jason Miller.