Joe Biden
Joe BidenReuters

Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden released his tax returns for the last four years on Tuesday hours before he debates President Donald Trump, AFP reports.

The former vice president and his wife Jill Biden, an educator, paid $299,346 in federal income taxes for 2019, according to forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service and released by Biden's campaign.

Biden paid millions more in taxes in 2018 and 2017, when he and his wife earned $4.5 million and $11 million, respectively.

The campaign also released the 2019 tax returns for Biden's running mate Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff, showing they paid $1.18 million on more than $3.2 million in income last year.

The issue of taxation is almost certain to come up in the opening presidential debate on Tuesday night in Cleveland.

According to a bombshell report by The New York Times, Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and in 2017, and no federal income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years because he reported losing more money than he made.

Trump has dismissed the accusations as "totally fake news."

Tuesday night’s debate in Cleveland will be the first of three between Trump and Biden and will be moderated by Fox News’ host Chris Wallace.

The debate will last 90 minutes without any commercial breaks. The topics for the debate are "The Trump and Biden Records," "The Supreme Court," "Covid-19," "The Economy," "Race and Violence in our Cities" and "The Integrity of the Election," according to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The debate was relocated to Cleveland after the University of Notre Dame pulled out as host due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.