by Ken Abramczyk
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump could not contrast more than on their plans for taxes on individuals, families, and corporations, all highlighted in their respective campaigns.
The topic came up at the presidential debate. Harris discussed her plans, while Trump—well . . . you saw what happened. While Trump tries to distance himself from Project 2025, much of it was written by his former advisors. The Heritage Foundation’s “mandate for leadership,” Project 2025 is a blueprint for former President Donald Trump to advance the foundation’s agenda to dismantle federal agencies, slash federal spending and programs, and restructure the federal government.
Project 2025, the descendent of the first mandate of leadership given to President Ronald Reagan in 1980, furthers this silly notion of “trickle-down economics,” which suggests that somehow the wealthiest and their companies will share their riches generated from lucrative tax breaks with middle- and lower-income families and individuals. Project 2025 proposes raising taxes on lower- and middle-income families to finance tax cuts for large corporations and the wealthiest Americans. [1]
Project 2025’s intermediate tax reform calls for a two-rate individual tax system of 15 percent and 30 percent that eliminates most deductions, credits, and exclusions; the current individual tax system is divided into seven different brackets, ranging from 10 percent to 37 percent. The higher tier of Project 2025’s tax rate would start at or around the Social Security wage base, which is $168,600 for 2024. Additionally, the project reduces the corporate income tax rate from 21 percent to 18 percent.
These tax proposals “would practically guarantee the concentration of the country’s wealth” in the hands of a group of billionaires who would be insulated from meaningful federal taxation, according to Bob Lord, an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and senior advisor on tax policy at the Patriotic Millionaires, as well as Morris Pearl, the chair of the Patriotic Millionaires. “The resulting concentration of political power would destroy whatever is left of our democracy, clearing the way for the imposition of Project 2025’s extreme social agenda,” they wrote in Fortune magazine. [2]
Tax burden shifts from wealthy to middle-income earners
The tax burden would shift enormously from wealthy tax filers to middle-income filers because the two current bottom brackets—10 and 12 percent—are lower than the 15 percent tax bracket in Project 2025. According to American Progress [3], the project would enact a two-income tax bracket for Georgians that would raise taxes by $2,810 for a median family of four making about $107,000 a year and raise taxes by $954 for a typical single-person household earning $36,658 annually. Higher-income tax filers would get a tax cut, as the proposed 30 percent tax bracket is lower than the current 32, 35, and 37 percent tax brackets, which is where much of high-earners’ incomes fall. [4]
The corporate tax cut would amount to $24 billion for the Fortune 100 companies, according to Brandon Duke, senior director of economic policy at American Progress. In the long term, replacing all individual and corporate income taxes with a consumption tax would lead to a $5,900 tax increase for the middle 20 percent of households on average while cutting taxes for the top 0.1 percent by an average of $2 million.
Kamala Harris plans to increase taxes on high-income individuals, bringing back the 39.6 percent income tax rate for those making $400,000 or more, and hike the 3.8 percent net investment income surtax to 5 percent for these taxpayers. She is supporting President Joe Biden’s pledge that taxes will not increase for people earning less than $400,000, which includes most taxpayers. [5]
Families, first-time homebuyers, and others would receive tax breaks under Harris’ plan. Harris supports the 2021 child tax credit expansions and promises not only to bring them back but also to increase them from $2,000 to $3,600 per child. Harris also wants families with newborns to receive a $6,000 tax credit and proposes giving a tax credit up to $10,000 for first-time home buyers.
Under her plan, corporate tax rates would increase from the current 21 percent to 28 percent.
These are just some of the highlights of her plan. Visit https://kamalaharris.com/issues/ for more information.
As you can see, Kamala Harris is truly looking out for the financial interests of most Americans. It’s up to us to make sure she is elected president. Make sure you are registered to vote. Please help to ensure the future of our democracy and way of life by voting for Kamala Harris on November 5. Please join the Cherokee County Democrats and volunteer. We need you to help us beat Donald Trump.
Ken Abramczyk serves as a volunteer writer. The opinions presented herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Cherokee County Democratic Committee (CCDC). The CCDC has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article.
