Commentary: Trump’s Tax Statements Don’t Match His Plan
End Notes
[1] See “Donald Trump: Middle class ‘absolutely forgotten,’” May 5, 2016, CNBC, http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000515308&play=1. For Trump’s plan, see https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/tax-reform.
[2] Isaac Shapiro, “Millionaires Would Gain Trillions Under Trump and Cruz Tax Plans,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 28, 2016, https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/millionaires-would-gain-trillions-under-trump-and-cruz-tax-plans.
[3] The size of the tax cuts for millionaires contrasts with Mr. Trump’s assertions that his plan would raise taxes on the wealthy. For example, in a town hall broadcast on Fox News April 3, 2016, Mr. Trump responded to a question about his tax cuts by saying, in part, “the very rich are going to end up probably paying more.” See “Trump Sets ‘Record’ Straight at Town Hall, But Not Counting on Rival Support If He’s the Nominee: ‘Endorsements Don’t Matter…I’m a Realist,’” April 3, 2016, FoxNews.com, http://nation.foxnews.com/2016/04/03/trump-sets-record-straight-town-hall-not-counting-rival-support-if-hes-nominee.
[4] Chuck Marr, “Trump’s Tax Misstatement,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, March 4, 2016, https://www.cbpp.org/blog/trumps-tax-misstatement.
[5] The current rate is above that from 2008-2012 when temporary tax cuts enacted as part of the Recovery Act lowered tax rates. These data are from the Tax Policy Center; see http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-combined-income-and-employee-tax-rates-family-four. We examined a slightly earlier version of these data in Chuck Marr and Nathaniel Frentz, “Federal Income Taxes on Middle-Income Families Remain Near Historic Lows,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, revised April 15, 2014, https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-income-taxes-on-middle-income-families-remain-near-historic-lows.
[6] These data only go through 2011, and start in 1979. Congressional Budget Office, The Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes, 2011, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/49440, see supplemental data, Table 13.