Wolters Kluwer Analyzes Tax Policies of Harris and Trump

A tax briefing on the proposed tax policies of the major presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, was recently released by Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting.

The analysis aims to clearly distinguish their tax priorities and propose how their policies could potentially affect individual taxpayers, businesses, and the wider economy, Wolters Kluwer said.

Key tax proposals from both candidates include:

Individual taxation: Harris has suggested raising the top income tax rate back to 39.6%, whereas Trump advocates for making the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 permanent.
Capital gains/dividends: The top rate for capital gains could see an increase to 28% for high-income individuals under Harris’s presidency, while Trump supports the current 20% rate on long term capital gains.
Taxation of tips: Both candidates are in general agreement over the abolition of tax on tips.
Taxation of Social Security benefits: Trump would eliminate income tax on all benefits paid regardless of recipients’ income. Harris hasn’t taken a position on this.
Child tax incentives: Harris intends to restore the maximum child tax credit to $3,600 and establish a $6,000 credit for infants under one year old. In contrast, Trump supports the permanent extension of the current $2,000 credit.
Homebuyer assistance: Harris has proposed expanding tax credits for housing construction, as well as a $25,000 first-time home buyer subsidy and funds to promote new housing units and local housing solutions.
Business taxation: Corporate income tax could rise to 28% under a Harris administration, while Trump has called for a further reduction to 15%. Additionally, Harris has proposed a tenfold increase in the tax deduction for small business startup expenses from $5,000 to $50,000.
Tariffs: Trump has proposed a broad-based tariff of 10% on imported goods and a 60% tariff on imported goods from China.

More information on the tax briefing, and to download the analysis, can be found here.