Presidential Candidates and the Economy

The fire and fury of the presidential candidates grow ever turbulent as we near the 2016 presidential election. The claims made by candidates on both sides promise economy, tax, and job reforms. The jargon used to describe these plans can leave the voting public mystified, so let’s take a clear, unfiltered look at each candidate.

Presidential Candidates, Job Creation, the Economy, and Taxes.

The topic of economy always comes back to, or rather should start with job creation. It’s a hot topic word that tickles the ear of any listener. Why? Because we all needs jobs. From jobs come our income; from our income our standard of living. Presidential candidates tout that better jobs = better lives. But what defines our jobs as better? When it comes down to it, most of us would agree that above all else, what we’re looking for is better pay.

So it would make sense then that we would analyze the presidential candidates based on their ability to influence our level of income. Who allows us, the American People, to keep our hard-earned wages so we can determine where we want to spend it? Who allows the businesses we work for to keep their money so they have more to payout in wages and benefits? Who makes our lives simpler? Let’s take a look.

A Look at the Presidential Candidates

Here is a quick and clean overview of the economic and tax plans as explained by each Presidential candidate:

Donald Trump

• Reduce income tax for those earning less than $25K single or $50K married, which eliminating nearly 50% of the population from income tax
• Curtails the number of income tax brackets for American population from 7 to 4
• Establishes a cap of 15% income tax on all businesses big and small
• Eliminates estate tax
• Reducing/eliminating corporate loop-holes
• Reduces number of allowable deductions
• Establish limits on the deductibility of business interest expenses

 

 

 

Hillary Clinton

• Establishes business tax credits for profit-sharing and apprenticeships
• Establishes an additional 4% income tax on incomes over $5 million
• Raises rates on medium-term capital gains (investments held for less than six years) to between 24% and 39.6%.
• Increases the top estate tax rate to 45%, and lowers the estate tax exclusion to $3.5 million.
• Desires to reduce/eliminating corporate loop-holes
• Strengthens rules preventing inversions.
• Advocates for tax-funded early and higher education

 

 

Ted Cruz

• Establishes a single 10% income tax for all Americans with a standard tax deduction of $10,000 per filer
• Establishes a flat income tax for businesses large and small of 16%
• A family of 4 is not taxed on the first $36K of income
• Eliminate many current taxes: payroll, corporate income, estate.
• Simple tax filing
• Companies importing goods to the US pay 16% flat tax
• US exporting companies are not taxed on exports

 

Bernie Sanders

• Increases the number of tax brackets from 7 to 11
• Increases maximum income tax level from 39.6% of total income to 52%
• Raises the rate of all other brackets by 2.2%
• Taxes capital gains and dividends at ordinary income rates for households with incomes over $250,000
• Increases the top estate tax rate to 65%, and lowers the estate tax exclusion to $3.5 million.
• Ends the deferral of tax on foreign income.
• Revises rules about corporate inversions and foreign corporations operating domestically.

The Bottom Line

Taxes up or taxes down. Each presidential candidate claims their plan will bring the most economic stimulus to US. The bottom line is that we can’t put our faith in the hands of one person’s financial decision. We’ve got to be prepared to make sound financial choices that will help grow our bottom line so that we can continue to provide long term for our families regardless of who is in office today, a year from now, and ten years from now.