Presidential Candidate Platforms

Republicans

Jeb Bush

• [1]“They are responsible for the slowest economic recovery ever, the biggest debt increases ever, a massive tax increase on the middle class, the relentless buildup of the regulatory state, and the swift, mindless drawdown of a military that was generations in the making.”- Jeb Bush on the Obama Administration [2]
• Claims that Obama’s administration increased taxes, so we need an overhaul of tax code
  • Fact check: Affordable Care Act increases taxes, but the high class is getting a majority of the impact of these tax increases. Subsidies also cushion the impact of the taxes.
    • Tax increases passed by Supreme Court would lead to an estimated cost to taxpayers over 804.6 billion dollars over the next decade [3][4][5]
• Business and corporations
  • Tax Proposal: Lower taxes on small business and big businesses, simplified tax code that is easier on middle class and families[6][7]
  • reduce personal income tax brackets down to three brackets: 28%, 25%, 10% like the Reagan administration’s second tax reform
  • fact check: Reagan’s 2nd tax reform wasn’t like this; it was broken into 4 groups (10%, 28%, 33%, 28%), making a tax “bubble”. Taxpayers after a certain income level paid a flat 28% tax rate [8][9]
  • cut down corporate tax rate from 35% to 20% and change it to territorial tax system (tax only on earnings made in US)[10]
  • 2% cap of filer’s gross income on total tax deductions
  • double size of standard deduction
  • double income tax credit for childless workers
  • eliminate carried interest loophole
  • estimate increasing number of Americans that don’t pay tax by 15 million, bringing the number of filers with zero taxes from 40% up to 50%
  • claims this will help lower and middle class, but this will benefit high earners instead[11]
  • plan estimated to cost up to $3.4 trillion over the next decade without growth
  • businesses deduct new capital investments

Ben Carson

• [12]claims that USA has the highest corporate tax rates in the world at 35%, but this isn’t true. Japan has the world’s highest tax rates at 40% on income, 37% on domestics, and 38% for multinational corporations. Further, the average US company pays around 23% tax after deductions and MNCs pay 28% on average. This puts the US as the second highest corporate tax in the world.[13]
• Claims current tax system discourages entrepreneurship and investment and inhibits growth of the economy
• Tax proposal:
  • flat 14.9% tax (no deductions) that applies to all incomes over 150% federal poverty level
  • tax only once (no double taxation on dividends, capital gains, interest income) at the personal level
  • eliminate deductions from home mortgage interest, charity, state and local taxes
  • eliminate alternative minimum tax
  • eliminate death tax
  • Claims: raise growth rate by 1.6% up to 4% annually, increase GDP by 16% in 10 years, create 5 million new jobs, increase wages by 11%
• Fact checks
  • death tax: only 0.2% of Americans are paying the estate tax currently, mainly affects a few small businesses and farmers[14]
  • There already is currently a $5.43 million exemption, so repealing the estate tax would mostly help the rich
  • Republican proposal to repeal estate tax would be easier on farmers that have much of their assets tied to their land. Without the tax, there is more incentive to transfer property at death rather than during life due to the reduced tax costs
  • flat tax rate plan: likely would lead to at least $1 trillion hole[15]
  • AMT: eliminating it would largely benefit the wealthy, who end up having to pay the higher tax rate when their income is above a certain threshold[16]
  • eliminating deductions: it’s true that mortgage deductions doesn’t tend to increase housing and it mainly helps the wealthy, who use it as a housing subsidy. Most others don’t take advantage of the mortgage deduction and instead take standard deductions. Plus, home prices tend to be higher than they would be without the deductions, which offsets the benefits from the deduction and discourages home ownership.[17][18]
  • eliminating double taxation on dividends, etc. would encourage more people to retain most of their income in stocks and pay zero taxes on dividend earnings from stock
  • double taxation on capital gains: very controversial topic, some say that lowering it will encourage investment in companies that are more risky but also putting forward progressive technologies; others say that the reduced tax would largely benefit the wealthy[19]

Chris Christie

• [20]Tax reform:
  • reduce corporate tax rate to 25%
  • cap on total deductions individuals and married couples can make
  • reduce income tax brackets to three brackets, with the highest bracket taxed at 28%, single digit for lowest bracket
  • eliminate payroll tax on individuals over 62 and under 25
• Economy
  • revert the workweek to 40 hours against Obama’s proposed 30 hours a week before qualifying for health insurance to encourage Americans to work more hours[21]
  • invest in research and development, education that matches the needs of employers
  • permanent research and development tax credit
  • reform disability insurance: eligibility for Social Security disability benefits would be contingent on entering a rehabilitation program and developing workplace reentry program
  • lift the ban on crude oil exports[22]
• Fact checks:

[23]

Ted Cruz

• [24]Tax reform:
  • Flat tax rate of 10% for all personal income tax brackets in which “all income groups will see a double digit increase in after-tax income”. People making under $36,000 will be tax-free
  • “The IRS will cease to exist as we know it”
  • claims: tax rate will boost GDP by 13.9% greater than current projections, increase wages by 12.2%, create 4,861,000 jobs
• Regulation:
  • Pass the REINS Act to regulate Congressional costs
  • Repeal Obamacare, open insurance markets across state lines, expand health savings accounts, delink health insurance from employment
  • end EPA regulations such as the Waters of the US and Clean Power Plan
• Energy
  • endorse Keystone Pipeline
  • reduce federal impediments on oil trade
• American Economy
  • create a more stable American dollar
  • audit Federal Reserve
• Internet
  • opposes Net Neutrality and Internet Sales Tax
• Five For Freedom Proposal
  • Abolish the IRS and five US agencies: Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, Department of Housing and Urban Development
• 25 Federal ABCs
  • Eliminate the following agencies, bureaus, commissions, programs:
  • Appalachian Regional Commission
  • Climate Ready Water Utilities Initiative
  • Climate Research Funding for the Office of Research and Development
  • Climate Resilience Evaluation Awareness Tool
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting (privatize)
  • Corporation for Travel Promotion
  • Global Methane Initiative
  • Green Infrastructure Program
  • Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
  • Legal Services Corporation
  • National Endowment for the Arts
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • New Starts Transit Program
  • Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund
  • Presidential Election Campaign Fund
  • Regulation of CO2 Emissions from Power Plants and all Sources
  • Regulation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Vehicles
  • Renewable Fuel Standard Federal Mandates
  • Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
  • Sugar Subsidies
  • Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery
  • UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  • UN Population Fund
  • USDA Catfish Inspection Program
• Grace Commission 2.0
  • cut government spending and enhance efficiency
  • balanced budget amendment that limits federal spending to a percentage of GDP and requires Senate “supermajority” to raise taxes
• Freeze on new hires in the federal executive branch, including no new job creation, no automatic position filling, no hiring of contractors
  • filling necessary vacant positions would be at a max ratio of one new hire for every three that leave
  • reducing the size of the federal government