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The Candidates’ Tax Plans And You

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With tax deadline fast approaching, we look at the tax plans from the 2016 presidential candidates, and what they could mean for you and the country.

This April 13, 2014, file photo, shows the Internal Revenue Service headquarters building in Washington. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)
This April 13, 2014, file photo, shows the Internal Revenue Service headquarters building in Washington. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)

The 2016 campaign has plenty of trash talk flying around. But one of these people is likely to be president, so you’d better know their plans. Today, we’re looking at their tax plans. There are huge differences. Huge. Hillary Clinton is pretty steady. No earthquake. Trump and Cruz would cut taxes bigtime for the rich. Increase the deficit by trillions. Bernie Sanders would go for the biggest peacetime tax hike in US history - but says you’ll love it. This hour On Point, the tax plans, 2016.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Len Burman, Robert C. Pozen director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. (@lenburman)

Jeanne Sahadi, senior writer at CNN Money. (@jjsahadi)

From Tom’s Reading List

Tax Policy Center: Taxes on the Rich May Change a Lot in 2017 — " It’s good to be rich. Depending on who becomes the next president, it could get a lot better or a lot worse. Thanks to our colleagues at the Tax Policy Center, we have a clearer picture of how the tax code would look if different presidential candidates win the election and convince Congress to enact their plan. The Democratic candidates would increase revenue and make the system more progressive; the Republicans would cut revenue and make the system more regressive. These differences are especially stark for very high-income households."

International Business Times: Paycheck Calculator: How Will The Presidential Candidates Change Your Tax Bill? — "Voting is free, but the aftermath isn't. Whether you feel the Bern, or want to make America great again, the next president’s tax policies will directly affect your take-home pay. Every election year, presidential hopefuls paint idealistic portraits of how they’ll reshape America. But with 76 percent of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, according to a survey from Bankrate, a few hundred dollars here or there can really make a difference."

Vox:  This simple calculator tells you how each presidential candidate's tax plan affects you — "Donald Trump and Ted Cruz propose massive cuts that would greatly reduce federal income taxes on everyone, especially the wealthy, while cutting a wide host of government programs. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders proposes virtually the opposite: tax increases on everyone, with hikes on the wealthy especially, while adding comprehensive government programs. And Hillary Clinton proposes much smaller tax increases, all focused on the rich. But what do their plans mean for your federal tax liability?"

Read CNN Money's Analysis Of Tax Plans By Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz 

This program aired on March 29, 2016.

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