US Vice President and Democratic candidate,Kamala Harris and his Republican opponent for the US elections in November, the former president Donald Trumphave outlined in recent weeks a series of proposals to address the main concerns of voters, such as: the economy and the high cost of living.
One of the biggest concerns of Americans is the inflationwhich has declined significantly since reaching 9.1 percent in June 2022, its highest in 40 years, remains at higher levels than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The labor market, where hiring has declined, high housing prices and the high government debt accumulated by the United States are other concerns for voters. Given these concerns; What do Harris and Trump propose?
Tips and overtime
The two candidates have agreed on a proposal, which consists ofeliminating federal taxes on tips, an idea that is particularly popular with workers in the restaurant and casino sectors, with a significant presence in the key state of Nevada.
However, There are differences between both candidates.
The Harris campaign has specified that there will be limits to prevent someone with high incomes from taking undue advantage of this measure, for example, by declaring that their salary comes almost entirely from tips to avoid taxes.
Trump’s campaign, however, has not indicated whether it would include such restrictions. What the former president has done is try to go further than Harris by proposing end taxes deducted from overtime.
Both proposals, which involve changes to the tax system, will have to be approved by Congress.
Tax cuts
The two candidates have also proposed tax cuts, although with a different approach.
Harris wants cut taxes for more than 100 million households working and middle class and has announced that tax deductions for new small businesses will increase from $5,000 to $50,000.
At the same time, he has promised to increase the minimum tax paid by large corporations, which would rise from the current 21 percent to 28 percent.
Trump wants to extend the tax cuts for big companies which was approved by Congress when he was president (2017-2021) and has proposed lowering the tax rate from 21 percent to 15 percent for those companies that manufacture all their products in the United States.
In a nod to a sector of the electorate, the Republican is also betting on eliminate social security taxes that some people pay for third age.
Support for workers and tariffs
Harris’s economic plan includes a $25,000 bonus for those who buy a home for the first time and has promised to restore the Child Tax Credit introduced during the pandemic so that Americans can access a tax credit of up to $3,600 per child, as well as offering a special $6,000 credit for new parents.
The Democrat also says she will do everything she can to ensure that Americans Don’t pay more than $35 a month for insulin that they need, something that the government has already achieved. Joe Bidenbut only for beneficiaries of Medicare, a health program for seniors.
Trump assures that will save thousands of jobs in the United States with the imposition of tariffs of up to 20 percent on all imported products, and 60 percent on those from China, a country with which it wants to intensify the trade war.
It has its sights set on the automotive industry in particular, having threatened to Tariffs of up to 200 percent on all cars from Mexico to discourage Chinese manufacturers from setting up shop in the country.
State debt
The candidates’ proposals will have a significant impact on state debt, as cutting taxes on large companies and offering housing or child support will reduce the funds available in the public coffers.
Specifically, according to studies by the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a nonpartisan institution, the Trump’s plan would increase federal debt by $5.8 trillion over the next decade, almost five times as much as Harris’s, which would total $1.2 trillion.
The U.S. government debt, the total amount of outstanding federal government debt accumulated over the nation’s history, currently stands at $35 trillion.
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