Clinton releases tax returns; earned nearly $240M since leaving White House

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greets members of the audience after giving a speech on the economy after touring Futuramic Tool & Engineering, in Warren, Mich., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greets members of the audience after giving a speech on the economy after touring Futuramic Tool & Engineering, in Warren, Mich., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

– The Washington Times

Hillary Clinton’s income took a huge hit as she ran for president last year, dropping to less than half of what she made the year before, according to tax returns her presidential campaign released Friday.

Mrs. Clinton hoped the release would embarrass GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has refused to release any of his, while also shining a light on the high rate she and her husband paid in their own taxes.

The power couple reported earning $10.7 million in income in 2015, and claimed a tax liability of $3.6 million.

It’s a major drop in income from the more than $28 million they earned in 2014 and $27 million in 2013 — the two years after Mrs. Clinton left the State Department, but before she was running for president.

The Clintons’ federal taxes in 2015 amounted to 34.2 percent of their income, and their combined federal, state and local taxes were 43.2 percent. They donated 9.8 percent of their adjusted gross income to charity.

Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine continue to set the standard for financial transparency as she releases her 2015 personal tax return and builds on the Clintons’ tradition of making their returns public since 1977 and Kaine releases 10 years of his returns,” Jennifer Palmieri, the Clinton campaign communications director, said.

The Clintons have now released tax returns showing their income going back to 1977, and have the last nine years of returns currently posted on Mrs. Clinton’s campaign website, dating back to 2007, when Mrs. Clinton was still in the Senate.

All told, the couple earned $151.5 million over the last nine years, and some $238 million since they left the White House in 2001.

Mrs. Clinton has famously described herself as “dead broke” when they left the White House, saying they were in debt.

“We had no money when we got there, and we struggled to piece together the resources for mortgages for houses, for Chelsea’s education. It was not easy. Bill has worked really hard. And it’s been amazing to me. He’s worked very hard.”

Ms. Palmieri said Mr. Trump, meanwhile, “is hiding behind fake excuses” in refusing to release his own information.

Mr. Trump has said he’s being audited by the IRS, and said it doesn’t make sense to release his returns in the middle of that audit.

Analysts and political opponents have challenged that explanation, with fellow billionaire Warren Buffett saying he, too, is being audited, but saying he’d release his returns if Mr. Trump did as well.

Also releasing a decade’s worth of tax returns Friday is Sen. Tim Kaine, Mrs. Clinton’s running mate.

He and his wife, Anne Holton, reported $313,441 in total income, and owed $63,626 in federal taxes. That gave them an effective tax rate of 20.3 percent. They have paid as little as 13.4 percent toward federal taxes, in 2009, and as high as 24 percent, in 2011.

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