US election: Hillary Clinton releases her tax returns

Hillary Clinton has released her tax returns, adding to the pressure on her Republican rival for the White House, Donald Trump, to do the same.

The Democratic presidential candidate paid an effective federal tax rate of 34.2% last year.

Her running mate Tim Kaine, along with his wife Anne Holton, paid a rate of 20.3%, his returns show.

Mr Trump, a hotel developer with a fortune estimated to be in the billions, has refused to release his.

Presidential candidates typically release their tax returns to the media to show their effective tax rate, charitable donations and other financial details.

Mr Trump, who has released a self-reported financial disclosure form, said he will not make his tax returns public until the Internal Revenue Service completes audits of them.
What might be in Trump's tax return?Image copyrightISTOCK
his tax rate
net worth
business sense
possible scandals


The IRS has said Mr Trump is free to release his returns. Mr Trump would be the first presidential candidate in decades not to release his returns.

Then-President Richard Nixon released his tax returns in 1973, starting an informal precedent.

In 2012, then-Republican presidential Mitt Romney reluctantly released his returns.

The returns became a campaign issue after the documents showed he paid an effective tax rate of 14.1%, much lower than the typical rate for top earners.Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionMr Kaine paid 20.3% tax rate in 2015Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionMrs Clinton earned about $3m last year from book royalties

"Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine continue to set the standard for financial transparency," said a Clinton campaign spokeswoman, who called on Mr Trump to do the same.

Mrs Clinton's return was filed jointly with her husband former President Bill Clinton. The couple earned more than $10m in 2015, the documents say.

Most of the income came from Mr Clinton's speaking fees as Mrs Clinton has been campaigning for president. Mrs Clinton earned about $3m from book royalties.

The Clintons have disclosed tax returns for every year since 1977