Just over three months till Election Day: Plenty of time to study candidates’ tax plans! The conventions’ balloons have dropped, but we hope your interest in Hillary Clinton’s and Donald Trump’s tax plans remains high. In case you missed them, you can review last week’s TPC posts on Clinton’s ideas here, and on Trump’s ideas here.
Meanwhile, the party platforms reflect very different perspectives on taxes. TPC’s Howard Gleckman noted that while the GOP platform calls the establishment of a pro-growth tax code “a moral imperative,” Democrats conclude that taxes are far less important to economic growth. They are far more focused on increasing the minimum wage and investing in public infrastructure.
And if you’re curious about how the candidates might affect the nation’s gross debt… The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget determines how much the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees would increase the nation’s gross debt, which includes the more commonly referenced public debt plus what it owes itself through various trust funds such as Social Security, Medicare, and federal retirement programs. Under current law, the gross debt would increase from $19 trillion to $29.1 trillion in 2026. Based on what Clinton has promised so far in the campaign, it would rise to $29.6 trillion. Trump’s promises—mostly his massive tax cuts—would drive the total federal debt to $39.5 trillion.
Speaking of Social Security: Reform might be possible… TPC’s Gene Steuerle takes a look at the Save Our Social Security Act of 2016, or SOS Act. Steuerle argues that while bill still could do more to help those with below-median incomes and address the structure of survivor and spousal benefits, it’s a step in the right direction. The proposal would generate “enough taxes…to pay full benefits not only for 75 years, but also to roughly cover benefits in the 75th and later years.”
Facebook gets a whopping tax bill for transferring global operations to Ireland in 2010. Last week the IRS sent the social media giant a notice of deficiency for $3 billion to $5 billion, plus interest and penalties. The IRS claims that Facebook undervalued property it transferred to Facebook Ireland Holdings Ltd. Facebook will fight the notice in tax court.
Congress is in recess. The Daily Deduction will post Mondays until it resumes.
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