Here we go again with a Trump policy paper—this time on
taxes. Trump brags that single earners of less than $25K and two-income households of less than $50K will pay nothing and "get a new one page form to send the IRS saying, 'I win.'" (Surely cutting taxes for everyone is a bid to stay on top. Trump had a rough week, last week, after
getting booed at the Values Voters summit among other things.)
But Bryce Covert reports his tax proposal is really a "giveaway to the wealthiest."
Lower taxes for corporations
Trump proposes the lowest corporate tax rate of the entire Republican presidential field so far. He would reduce the rate to just 15 percent; by contrast, Sen. Marco Rubio (FL) would reduce it to 25 percent, while Jeb Bush would impose a top 20 percent corporate rate.
Lower taxes for the rich
The highest individual tax bracket, which would apply to married couples who make more than $300,000, would be lowered from the current 39.6 percent rate to 25 percent. That’s an even lower top tax rate than under Bush’s plan, which proposes a top 28 percent on income; yet analysis of Bush’s plan found that the top 1 percent of earners would get the overwhelming benefit of his tax cuts, with an 11.6 percent increase in after-tax income compared to 1.8 percent more for the poorest and between 2.3 and 3.1 percent for the middle class.
More giveaways to the rich
Trump’s plan would also get rid of the estate tax, which only affects the wealthiest 0.14 percent of Americans. [...] Nonetheless, it is a significant and progressive source of government revenue, since it only impacts those most able to pay yet will generate $246 billion over the next decade. [...]
He would also cut the top capital gains tax rate to 20 percent. The current code already means that income made from investments enjoys a much lower 23.8 percent rate than income made from work, which is taxed at a top 39.6 rate. [...] The lower capital gains tax rate is one of the biggest contributors to growing income inequality.