Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ tax plan would raise $15.3 trillion over the next decade, according to an analysis released Friday by non-partisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (TPC).
The plan would raise another $25.1 trillion in the following years, the TPC said. The estimates do not consider the macroeconomic effects.
Sanders has proposed a number of tax increases on individuals and businesses to pay for his spending plans, which include single-payer healthcare, paid family leave and infrastructure investment.
“Sanders is clearly betting that people are willing to pay for his expansive welfare state, and he’s very explicit about how the burden is going to be shared,” TPC director Len Burman told reporters.
TPC estimates that Sanders’ tax plan would raise significantly more than rival Hillary Clinton’s plan. TPC estimates that Clinton’s plan would raise just $1.1 trillion over the next decade.
While Clinton’s plans are “incremental,” Sanders’ plan would make radical changes, Burman said. “There’s a very, very clear choice,” he added.
The tax plans of Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Sen. Marco Rubio, would all cost trillions of dollars according to TPC. Trump’s plan is the most expensive of the three, and Sanders’ plan would raise revenue by more than what Trump’s plan would cost.
Around 40 percent of the revenue from Sanders’ plan would come from a new 6.2 percent payroll tax and a 2.2 percent across-the-board increase on income taxes, which are part of Sanders’ plan to pay for his healthcare proposal. Another quarter of the increase comes from net hikes in the income, payroll, and estate taxes paid by the wealth, according to the TPC.
Taxpayers across the income spectrum would see tax increases, with the wealthy seeing the biggest tax hikes. In 2017, households in the middle fifth of income would see their taxes increase on average by almost $4,700, while people in the top 0.1 percent of income would on average have their taxes go up by more than $3 million, TPC said.
Since Sanders plans to spend much of the revenue he raises on various government programs, his plan is “unlikely to do much, if anything, to reverse the currently unsustainable path for public debt,” TPC said.
The plan would raise another $25.1 trillion in the following years, the TPC said. The estimates do not consider the macroeconomic effects.
Sanders has proposed a number of tax increases on individuals and businesses to pay for his spending plans, which include single-payer healthcare, paid family leave and infrastructure investment.
“Sanders is clearly betting that people are willing to pay for his expansive welfare state, and he’s very explicit about how the burden is going to be shared,” TPC director Len Burman told reporters.
TPC estimates that Sanders’ tax plan would raise significantly more than rival Hillary Clinton’s plan. TPC estimates that Clinton’s plan would raise just $1.1 trillion over the next decade.
While Clinton’s plans are “incremental,” Sanders’ plan would make radical changes, Burman said. “There’s a very, very clear choice,” he added.
The tax plans of Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Sen. Marco Rubio, would all cost trillions of dollars according to TPC. Trump’s plan is the most expensive of the three, and Sanders’ plan would raise revenue by more than what Trump’s plan would cost.
Around 40 percent of the revenue from Sanders’ plan would come from a new 6.2 percent payroll tax and a 2.2 percent across-the-board increase on income taxes, which are part of Sanders’ plan to pay for his healthcare proposal. Another quarter of the increase comes from net hikes in the income, payroll, and estate taxes paid by the wealth, according to the TPC.
Taxpayers across the income spectrum would see tax increases, with the wealthy seeing the biggest tax hikes. In 2017, households in the middle fifth of income would see their taxes increase on average by almost $4,700, while people in the top 0.1 percent of income would on average have their taxes go up by more than $3 million, TPC said.
Since Sanders plans to spend much of the revenue he raises on various government programs, his plan is “unlikely to do much, if anything, to reverse the currently unsustainable path for public debt,” TPC said.