Pence releases tax returns, while Trump’s remain a secret

Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence released 10 years of tax returns on Friday evening.

They deducted $2,500 for student loan interest and $8,923 in charitable contributions and received $5,000 in education tax credits, which reduced their tax bill on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Last weekend, announcing the impending release of his own records, Pence said: “I’ll release mine in the next week”.

The campaign says Pence paid a state and federal tax rate that ranged between 10 percent and 16 percent over the past decade. Without commenting on specifics, Pence told the Associated Press that it was “thorough and informative” and that he and his running mate, Donald Trump, would be “ready on day one” if they were elected.

Major party presidential nominees have publicly released their taxes since 1976, but Trump is the exception. Tim Kaine, released 10 years’ worth of tax returns the same day.

Mr Pence, the IN governor and a former US House member and radio host, is often dispatched to reassure conservatives about the man at the top of the ticket seeking elected office for the first time and riling many Republicans along the way.

“These tax returns clearly show that Mike and Karen Pence have paid their taxes, supported worthy causes, and, unlike the Clintons, the Pences have not profited from their years in public service”. Critics have accused Trump of seeking to hide his net worth or business practices. Mr. Pence has state pension and retirement accounts and he may have a federal retirement account that wouldn’t appear on the disclosure form. His 2006 tax return shows that number took a substantial hit in 2004 when the Kiel Brothers Oil Company – where his father had worked for years and his brother was, at the time, serving as CEO – filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Hillary Clinton released her most recent tax returns last month, along with the previous eight years in July. Between 2006 and 2015 the family made an average of about $160,000 a year, largely from Pence’s government income as governor and member of the House of Representatives. Her running mate, Virginia Sen.