Voting Guide •
April 22nd, 2024
2024 Voter Guide: Where the Presidential Candidates Stand on Taxes
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How do Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and the other 2024 presidential candidates compare on tax issues?
Sub-issues:
Capital Gains
Donald Trump (R)
During his presidency, President Trump stated his intention to reduce the tax rate on capital gains, where a capital asset is sold at a higher price than when purchased. Larry Kudlow, the National Economic Council director at the time, cited that the administration was aiming for a 15% rate.
Joe Biden (D)
During his presidency, he made a call to bump taxation on capital gains to 44.6% for those with an income of at least $1 million. In his FY25 budget proposal, the proposed capital gains rate was 39.6%.
Marianne Williamson (D)
Stance not found.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Ind.)
According to his voter base, he believes that the government should not increase the tax rate on capital gains.
Cornel West (Ind.)
Stance not found.
Corporate Taxes
Donald Trump (R)
Trump signed off on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which was enacted in 2017 and will expire in 2025. In this, he announced his plan to bring the 35% corporate tax rate down to 21% corporate tax; however, this was after his previous mentions of bringing the tax rate down to 15%. This was designed to increase job creation but also increased the estimated national debt.
Joe Biden (D)
Proposed in Biden’s Offshoring Tax Penalty is a 28% corporate tax rate and 10% Offshoring Penalty surtax, including a 30.8% tax rate on “profits of any production by a United States company overseas for sales back to the United States.” This is an increase from his previous calls of a 21% corporate minimum tax rate.
Marianne Williamson (D)
From her campaign site, she states, “The real wealth of our nation lies not in corporate profits, but in our people. Investing in care is both humane and good for our economy.” She proposes to “enact fair taxes on the wealthy, corporations, and Wall Street, and reduce taxes on working people.” She also hopes to “close the loopholes that give big breaks to large corporations, and ensure they pay their fair share of taxes to level the playing field so small businesses can compete.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Ind.)
He wants to “end the corruption in Washington, the corporate giveaways, the boondoggles, the bailouts of the too-big-to-fail that leave the little guy at the mercy of the market. Corporations right now are sitting on $8 trillion in cash.” He also states on his campaign website that “corporations right now are sitting on $8 trillion in cash. Their contribution to tax revenues was 33% in the 1950s — it is 10% today. It’s high time they paid their fair share.”
Cornel West (Ind.)
He wishes to establish a “wealth tax on all billionaire holdings and transactions.”
Income Taxes
Donald Trump (R)
He once proposed a one time wealth tax in 1999 to help pay national debt, but did not act on this during his presidency. In 2017, he reduced the highest individual income tax bracket to 37% from 39.6%. The Trump Administration took action against France for its digital services tax that targeted American technology companies and launched investigations into digital services taxes that have been proposed or adopted by 10 other countries.
Joe Biden (D)
He called for a 25% taxation on wealth if one’s household was valued at at least $100M. He also pledged to raise taxes only on individuals earning over $200,000 or $400,000 for married couples. In his FY25 budget proposal, taxpayers earning over $400,000 would be taxed at 39.6%, the highest rate, reversing the tax cuts in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Biden promoted a 2021 international taxation policy agreeing to pass national laws that would require corporations to pay at least 15% income tax in the countries they operate in.
Marianne Williamson (D)
She hopes to “protect the middle-class from tax hikes while repealing the 2017 Trump tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Ind.)
He hopes to implement “tax code changes” by creating “small changes to the tax code that can make corporate investments in single-family homes uneconomic. For example, we can change business depreciation rules and reform the “enterprise zones” that have contributed so much to gentrification.”
Cornel West (Ind.)
He hopes to “end all tax loopholes for the oligarchy.”
Tax Credits
Donald Trump (R)
Many of the tax benefits aiding individuals and families would expire in 2025 under the TCJA. The CBO reported that lower-income groups would incur net costs under this tax plan by paying higher taxes or receiving fewer government benefits once they expired in 2025. However, he doubled the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child and expanded the eligibility for receiving the credit; “nearly 40 million families benefited from the child tax credit (CTC), receiving an average benefit of $2,200, totaling credits of approximately $88 billion.” He “created the first-ever paid family leave tax credit for employees earning $72,000 or less” and “signed an executive order to temporarily suspend student loan payments, evictions, and collection of payroll taxes.”
Joe Biden (D)
He signed off on the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, which widened eligibility for the child tax credit with $250 monthly checks per child. He made a further call to extend the Child Tax Credit of 2021 through the passage of the Build Back Better Agenda. He announced a “Made in America” tax credit for companies that have invested in job creation for American workers. In the CHIPS and Science Act that was signed by Biden, additional tax credits would be given to companies producing computer chips in the U.S.
Marianne Williamson (D)
No stance found.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Ind.)
No stance found.
Cornel West (Ind.)
No stance found.
This blog was written by Harry Ding, content intern (Center bias). It was reviewed and edited by Henry A. Brechter (Center bias), Malayna Bizier (Right bias), and Joseph Ratliff (Lean Left bias).
