Clintons earned USD 10.75 million in 2015, paid 34.2% federal tax rate

Baku. 13 August. REPORT.AZ/ Hillary Clinton on Friday released her 2015 tax returns, which showed the Democratic presidential nominee and her husband had USD 10.75 million in income that year and paid an effective federal tax rate of 34.2 percent.

Report informs citing the foreign media, in 2015, the Clintons made $1 million in charitable contributions, mostly to the Clinton Foundation; former President Bill Clinton brought in nearly $5.3 million in speaking fees; and the former secretary of state reported income of $3 million from publisher Simon & Schuster for her book on her tenure at the State Department.

Clinton's running mate, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, along with his wife, Anne Holton, released 10 years of tax returns. They paid an effective federal tax rate of 20.3 percent in 2015.

"Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine continue to set the standard for financial transparency," Clinton campaign aide Jennifer Palmieri said in a statement. "In stark contrast, Donald Trump is hiding behind fake excuses and backtracking on his previous promises to release his tax returns."

It is customary for U.S. presidential candidates to make their tax returns public, although they are not required by law to do so.

Clinton's tax returns have been made public, in some form, every year since 1977.

Trump, a New York businessman, and his lawyers have cited an audit by the Internal Revenue Service as a reason for his refusal to release his returns. Trump also has said his taxes are no one's business and that they reveal little.

The Trump campaign dismissed Clinton's action, saying in a statement: "This document release is nothing more than an attempt at distraction and misdirection" from controversy about her use of a private e-mail server when she was secretary of state."