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Updated October 15th, 2024
How do Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, and the other 2024 presidential candidates compare on tax issues?
Sub-issues:
Capital Gains
Kamala Harris (D): Calls for increasing the capital gains tax rate.
While serving as a senator of California in 2019, Vice President Kamala Harris supported “taxing capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income” to fund Medicare for All. She did not specify if this tax would be for all taxpayers or for those who earn above a certain threshold.
President Biden and Harris’ administration called to bump taxation on capital gains and dividends to 44.6% for those with an income of at least $1 million in 2023. The Biden-Harris administration proposed increasing the capital gains tax rate from 20% to 39.6% for households that earn more than $1 million in their FY25 budget. The White House also called to close loopholes that allow people to pass capital gains to heirs without taxation.
In September, Harris proposed a 28% tax on long-term capital gains.
Donald Trump (R): Advocates for reducing the capital gains tax rate.
Former president Donald Trump’s administration expressed intentions to reduce the tax rate on capital gains to 15% if elected for a second term. Prior to the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 under the Trump Administration, long-term capital gains and qualified dividends rate brackets were tied to ordinary-income rate brackets. The TCJA separated the thresholds for long-term capital gains from ordinary-income brackets.
Cornel West (Ind.): Calls for higher taxes on capital gains.
Cornel West advocates for a wealth tax and higher capital gains taxes.
Chase Oliver (Lib.): Does not support increasing the capital gains tax rate.
Chase Oliver does not support raising taxes, including taxes that specifically target higher earning individuals.
Jill Stein (G): Advocates for increasing capital gains taxes.
Jill Stein wants to remove the cap on the Social Security tax and apply the Social Security payroll tax to all income, including capital gains and dividends. She wants to close tax loopholes, and advocates for increasing capital gains taxes, including the estate tax.
Corporate Taxes
Kamala Harris (D): Called to increase corporate tax rate and to set a global minimum tax rate.
During her 2020 presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris proposed a 35% corporate tax rate. The Biden-Harris administration called to increase the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% in its FY25 budget.
The Biden-Harris administration implemented a 15% minimum corporate tax rate when Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The administration called for increasing the corporate minimum tax rate to 21% in its FY25 budget.
The Biden-Harris administration advocated for adopting the OECD Global Tax Deal, which sets a global minimum tax rate of 15% for corporations.
Donald Trump (R): Proposes decreasing the corporate tax rate.
Former president Donald Trump signed off on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which was enacted in 2017 and will expire in 2025. The TCJA reduced the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%. Trump said he would decrease the corporate tax rate to 20% if elected in 2024. 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.
Cornel West (Ind.): Calls for more accountability for corporate taxation.
Cornel West advocates for stronger restrictions and more accountability mechanisms for corporate taxation. He wishes to establish a “wealth tax on all billionaire holdings and transactions,” according to his campaign website.
Chase Oliver (Lib.): Advocates for decreasing taxes and overhauling the tax code.
Chase Oliver states he wants to reduce taxation, including taxes for corporations and small businesses. In March Oliver tweeted, “Corporations don't pay taxes. Those who buy from them pay the taxes.” Oliver has advocated for the complete overhaul of the tax code as well as an end to compulsory taxation: “The tax code is not a weapon for politicians to use to reward friends and punish perceived foes, nor a tool to use to play at social engineering. The code needs to be gutted and replaced, if at all, with a system fair to all Americans,” he wrote in a February X post.
Jill Stein (G): Advocates for increasing corporate taxation.
Stein advocates for removing loopholes that “allow foundations to hide wealth from taxation” and increased taxation for taxing “the ultra-wealthy and giant corporations heavily” according to her campaign website.
Income Taxes
Kamala Harris (D): Advocates for maintaining income tax rates for the middle class and raising tax rates for households earning more than $400,000, and opposes federal taxes on tips.
With the individual income and estate tax cuts established in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act set to expire in 2025, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ administration released plans to maintain the tax cuts for lower class and middle class households. Biden pledged not to raise taxes for households that earn less than $400,000 each year. Harris said she would continue this promise if elected, stating, “Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.” The Biden-Harris administration proposed raising the individual income tax for households earning more than $400,000 to 39.6% from 37% in the FY25 budget proposal, which would reverse the cuts in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Harris has reiterated Joe Biden's commitment not to raise taxes on households that earn less than $400,000 a year.
Some of the country’s highest earners pay the same tax rate as middle class Americans because they make money in ways that have lower tax rates than labor, such as capital gains. The Biden-Harris administration proposed a minimum 25% tax rate for the top 0.01%, those who earn more than $100 million, in the FY25 budget.
The White House increased funding to the IRS to improve services and efficiency and “crack down on the high-income individuals and corporations who too often avoided paying their lawfully owed taxes.”
Donald Trump (R): Decreased the highest individual income tax bracket and opposes federal taxes on tips.
Former President Donald Trump once proposed a one-time wealth tax, in 1999, to help pay the national debt, but he 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. Recently, Trump has stated that he will eliminate federal taxes on tips for service workers if he is elected.
Cornel West (Ind.): Calls for raising taxes and redistributing wealth.
Cornel West advocates for a “Wealth Tax to End Oligarchy.” His campaign website states that it “is our moral imperative to redistribute the obscene concentrations of wealth and power.” West said in an interview that the nation has “got to have taxes that are higher, much higher” to effectively redistribute wealth and decrease poverty.
In 2023, West was criticized for owing more than $500,000 in federal income taxes.
Chase Oliver (Lib.): Seeks to overhaul the tax code and abolish the income tax.
Chase Oliver said that he hopes to completely overhaul [8 minutes] the U.S. tax code, or eliminate it entirely, including income taxes.
Jill Stein (G): Supports "strongly progressive taxation for incomes" and increasing the estate tax.
Jill Stein supports a "strongly" progressive tax on incomes and wealth, and the reduction of taxes on incomes below the real median income ($75,000 per household).
Tax Credits
Kamala Harris (D): Supports tax credits for some individuals and businesses.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ administration implemented the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, which gave temporary tax breaks to some individuals and businesses. The act expanded eligibility for the Child Tax Credit and thereby decreased child poverty to the lowest level on record. Biden called to reintroduce the expanded Child Tax Credit in his FY25 budget proposal. The act also expanded payments and eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is intended for taxpayers without dependent children. Kamala Harris has made the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit central to her campaign’s messaging, promising on her website to “restore two tax cuts designed to help middle class and working Americans” in addition, she also backs expanding the Small Business Tax Credit to $50,000.
Harris has proposed tax credits targeting investments in manufacturing, energy, and agriculture. The Biden-Harris administration implemented clean energy tax credits through the Inflation Reduction Act and signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which gave tax credits to companies producing semiconductors in the U.S. The administration partially offset the tax credits by increasing the tax rate for corporations and households that earn more than $400,000.
As a senator, Harris introduced a tax credit for low-income and middle-income taxpayers, and a tax credit for renters earning less than $100,000 and spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. Neither act passed.
Donald Trump (R): Expanded tax credits for families via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Former president Donald Trump implemented the TCJA (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act), which 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.” The TCJA also added “the first-ever paid family leave tax credit for employees earning $72,000 or less.” Many of the act’s tax benefits aiding individuals and families will expire in 2025. The Congressional Budget Office reported that lower-income groups would incur net costs under this tax plan by paying higher taxes or receiving fewer government benefits once they expire in 2025.
Trump also signed executive orders in 2020 to temporarily pause student loan payments, evictions, and payroll tax collection.
Cornel West (Ind.)
No specific stance for Cornel West was found.
Chase Oliver (Lib.): Called for lowering or eliminating taxes instead of tax credits.
Chase Oliver has advocated that instead of giving tax credits, the government should lower or eliminate taxes [8 minutes].
On X, Chase Oliver quoted his grandfather, who said, "They will tax you a dollar and give you back a dime."
In response to Joe Biden’s statements on making tax credits permanent during the 2024 State of the Union, Oliver tweeted, “How about we end all taxes and make that permanent?”
Jill Stein (G): Advocates for a progressive tax code instead of tax credits.
Jill Stein supports rewriting the tax code to be strongly progressive, rather than offering tax credits to families.
The Green Party advocates for the socialization of critical spheres to guarantee access to all, rather than offer tax credits to incentivize private organizations to meet the need. When it comes to clean energy, for example, they say “It is too late for public incentives to private industry such as tax breaks, subsidies, and contracts to make the clean energy transition.”
This blog was originally written by Harry Ding, Content Intern (Center bias). It was updated by Olivia Geno, News and Bias Assistant (Lean Right bias); Kai Lincke, Content Intern (Lean Left bias); Malayna J. Bizier, News Analyst and Social Media Editor (Right bias); Krystal Woodworth, Growth Specialist and Executive Assistant (Center bias); and Shane Maguire, Content Intern (Left \bias). It was reviewed and edited by Henry A. Brechter, Editor-in-chief (Center bias); Joseph Ratliff, Content Designer and News Editor (Lean Left bias); and Malayna J. Bizier, News Analyst and Social Media Editor (Right bias).