Biden paid almost $300,000 in federal income taxes in 2019 as he readies debate attacks on Trump's shockingly low taxes

• Former Vice President Joe Biden released his 2019 tax returns ahead of the first presidential debate on Tuesday evening.
• The Democratic presidential candidate and his wife paid nearly $300,000 in federal income taxes last year.
• Biden's financial disclosures come two days after New York Times reported that President Donald Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, and none at all in 10 of the last 15 years.

Former Vice President Joe Biden released his 2019 tax returns on Tuesday, a dig at President Donald Trump hours before their highly anticipated face-off in the first presidential debate.

Biden and his wife, Jill, a community college professor, earned a combined taxable income of $944,737 last year; much of the income comes from S-corporations used for Biden's speaking fees. They paid almost $300,000 in federal income taxes, a tax rate of about 31%, according to the documents.

The financial disclosures sharply contrast those of Trump's exposed in a comprehensive New York Times investigation published two days ago. The report found that the president has aggressively avoided tax payments, paying only $750 in federal income taxes for 2016 and 2017, and none at all in 10 of the last 15 years.

Trump, who has broken the longstanding tradition of presidential-candidate protocol by refusing to release his tax records, has decried the bombshell report as "fake news."

Biden has paid far more in taxes than his billionaire rival has in recent years, despite making much less money than Trump. In 2016, the Bidens paid $87,000 in federal income taxes on earnings of $338,000. The following year, they paid $3.7 million in federal income taxes on income over $11 million, mostly earned from book deals.

The issue is likely to come to a head during their first public showdown on Tuesday evening in Cleveland, starting at 9 p.m. ET.

Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, also revealed her 2019 tax returns with her husband Doug Emhoff, a lawyer, reporting more than $1 million paid in federal income taxes.

Vice President Mike Pence published his tax documents during the 2016 campaign but hasn't released any since.