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Rubio And Cruz Release Tax Returns, Piling Pressure On Donald Trump

Marco Rubio at a campaign rally in Georgia Saturday.
Branden Camp
/
Getty Images
Marco Rubio at a campaign rally in Georgia Saturday.

Marco Rubio made 14 years of his tax returns and Ted Cruz released four more years of his Saturday, increasing pressure on rival Donald Trump to release his.

Rubio's returns show his family's adjusted gross income was $335,561 in 2014, the most recent year he made available. He paid almost $65,000 in income taxes, a 19.3 percent rate.

That's down from the previous couple of years — he and his wife reported nearly $1 million in 2012. Returns on the site date back to 2000, when he earned $82, 710.

/ MarcoRubio.com
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MarcoRubio.com

"There is no doubt the Rubio family has come a long way from the days when their largest monthly expense was a check to Sallie Mae and checks were sent in the mail to pay bills with the hope the payment did not arrive before the next paycheck was deposited into their account," a statement on the campaign website read, noting the Rubios' only debt today is the mortgage on their house.

Cruz released 2010-2014, and had previously released 2006-2010 when he ran for Senate. He reported an adjusted gross income of $1.2 million in 2014, and paid $389,000 in income taxes at a 32.22 percent rate.

Ted Cruz's tax information from 2010-2014.
/ Ted Cruz Campaign
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Ted Cruz Campaign
Ted Cruz's tax information from 2010-2014.

"It is time to stop the excuses," Cruz said in a statement. "Donald Trump owes it to the American people to be fully vetted, and that includes releasing his tax returns so the voters can see the full financial picture. His claim that he can't comply because he's being audited is nonsense. If Donald is embarrassed about his tax returns, it's up to the voters to assess the facts. It's time to stop delaying and come clean with the American people."

Trump was hammered at Thursday night's debate for not releasing his tax returns. "I will absolutely give my return, but I'm being audited now for two or three years, so I can't do it until the audit is finished, obviously," Trump said.

An NPR fact check found that there is no law barring Trump from releasing his returns while being audited, though an accountant or lawyer may have advised him too.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Amita Kelly is a Washington editor, where she works across beats and platforms to edit election, politics and policy news and features stories.