July 31, 2015

Hillary Clinton Releases Health, Financial Records

Hillary Clinton today released a detailed summary of her health records, becoming the first presidential candidate in this election cycle to do so, along with her tax returns and other financial records.
 
Clinton released a letter from her physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack of Mount Kisco Medical Group, who declared that “she is in excellent physical condition and fit to serve as President of the United States.”
 
In addition to this medical summary, the campaign also posted to its website the last eight years of Clinton’s personal tax returns, covering 2007-2014.  This supplements the public release of the family’s tax returns from 2000-2006 during her 2008 campaign, returns from 1992-1999 disclosed annually during her husband’s time in the White House, and prior returns released by her husband’s presidential campaign.  All told, the Clintons have made their tax returns public for every year dating back to 1977.
 
As the returns detail, since 2007, the Clintons have paid $43,885,310 in federal income taxes. In the two most recent years, 2013 and 2014, the Clintons paid an effective federal tax rate of 35.4 percent and 35.7 percent, respectively. When accounting for state and local taxes, the Clintons’ combined effective tax rate was 44.6 percent in 2013 and 45.8 percent in 2014.
 
Since 2007, the Clintons have also made $14,959,450 in charitable contributions. In 2013, charitable giving represented 11.4 percent of their income.  In 2014, it represented 10.8 percent.
 
To supplement the disclosure of her tax returns, Clinton posted a complete inventory of paid speeches delivered by both her and her husband in 2013.  The disclosure includes the amount earned for each speaking engagement.  The same information was released for her husband annually during Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State.  Corresponding data for 2014 and the early part of 2015 was released in May on Clinton’s financial disclosure report.
 
All of the information disclosed by Clinton today is posted on her campaign website. The materials can be viewed here: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/tax-returns/
 
In conjunction with the release of her financial information, Hillary Clinton also released the following statement:
 
“Over the past few months, I’ve listened to Americans’ concerns about an economy that still seems stacked for those at the top.  Nowhere is this imbalance more apparent – or more problematic – than in our tax code.  It’s full of loopholes that allow the wealthiest Americans and most powerful corporations to game the system and avoid paying their fair share.  It even permits a highly-paid Wall Street trader to sometimes pay a lower tax rate than a teacher or a nurse.  And it creates perverse incentives that discourage long-term investments that would grow our economy and raise incomes for hard-working Americans.
 
“Reforming our tax code to promote strong, fair, long-term growth is a centerpiece of my campaign, and I will continue outlining specific new ideas in the months ahead.
 
“Today, I’m releasing my own family’s tax returns from 2007 to 2014, adding those years to previous releases going back to 1977.  Since 2007, we have paid $43,885,310 in federal taxes and made $14,959,450 in charitable contributions.  We’ve also paid $13,625,777 in state and local income taxes.  Last year, we paid an effective federal tax rate of 35.7 percent and a combined federal, state, and local effective rate of 45.8 percent.  We contributed 10.8 percent of our income to charity.  In 2013, the numbers were similar.  We paid an effective federal tax rate of 35.4 percent and a combined rate of 44.6 percent, and donated 11.4 percent of our income to charity.  
 
“We’ve come a long way from my days going door-to-door for the Children’s Defense Fund and earning $16,450 as a young law professor in Arkansas – and we owe it to the opportunities America provides.
 
“I want more Americans to have the chance to work hard and get ahead, just like we did.  And reforming the tax code can help.  We should be guided by some simple principles.
 
“First, hard-working middle class families and small businesses need and deserve tax relief and simplification.  As President, I’ll make that a priority.
 
“Second, those at the top have to pay their fair share.  That’s why I’ve called for closing the carried interest loophole, which lets wealthy financiers pay an artificially low rate, and implementing the Buffett Rule, which makes sure millionaires don’t pay lower rates than their secretaries.
 
“Third, the tax code shouldn’t reward companies for shipping jobs or profits overseas, or encourage quick trades on Wall Street at the expense of long-term investments that create jobs and raise incomes here at home.  I’ve proposed raising short-term capital gains tax rates for those in the top bracket and then going to a six-year sliding scale that will encourage longer-term investments.
 
“We hear very different principles from the Republican candidates running for President.  They want to give me another tax cut I don’t need instead of putting middle class families first.  For example, Jeb Bush supports eliminating or dramatically lowering capital gains taxes for wealthy investors with no incentives for long-term holding.  Marco Rubio’s plan would cut taxes for households making more than $3 million a year by almost $240,000 – more than four times the earnings of a typical family.  That’s a budget-busting give-away to the super-wealthy and the sort of bad economics you’re likely to get from any of the Republican candidates.
 
“Families like mine that reap rewards from our economy have a responsibility to pay our fair share.  And it’s not just the right thing to do -- it’s also good for growth.  To create jobs and raise incomes, our country needs resources to make big investments in infrastructure, innovation, clean energy, and education.  That’s vital if we’re going to make the economy work for everyone, not just those already at the top.
 
I believe that we all have to do our part to renew the basic bargain of America: If you work hard and do your part, you should be able to get ahead and stay ahead.  And when you get ahead, America gets ahead too.”
 
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