The results of Tax Day have shown that Donald Trump and Joe Biden couldn’t be more financially or philosophically different.
As of the IRS deadline, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had reported a gross income of $619,976 and paid a federal income tax rate of 23.7%. He plans to give a speech in Scranton, Pennsylvania, explaining why the rich should pay more in taxes to lower the federal deficit and assist middle-class and low-income programs.
Former Republican President Trump has maintained that his financial disclosures from the past are enough and that voters do not need to view his tax returns. While the economy is still reeling from inflation, reaching a four-decade high in 2022, he argues that lowering taxes for the rich would spur investment and create more employment.
Whoever wins the November election will face significant obstacles as a result of the schism, which extends beyond superficial ideological differences. The tax cuts that Trump signed into law in 2017 will expire at the end of 2025, leading to a deluge of decisions over the relative contributions of different income groups as the national debt is projected to reach record highs.
After promising that no one with an income below $400,000 would be subject to a higher tax rate, Biden wants to retain most of the tax cuts. But this year, he unveiled a budget plan that would increase taxes on the rich and companies to bring in $4.9 trillion in income and reduce projected deficits by $3.2 trillion over a decade.
Economists generally agree that Trump’s tax cuts will not stimulate the economy to the point where the national debt can be reduced. Tax cuts, increased tariffs, and immigration restrictions, as outlined in a “full-blown Trump” strategy, would reduce GDP and raise inflation, according to a study published Friday by Oxford Economics.
According to Biden’s plans, households with a net worth of $100 million or more would be subject to a “billionaire minimum income tax” that would impose a 25% minimum rate. Trump has said that his tax returns are convoluted because he has used several tax incentives and has written off losses from his businesses in the past.
