As Republican nominee Donald Trump advances proposals that would further enrich the wealthiest Americans and profitable corporations, an analysis published Wednesday found that Vice President Kamala Harris' tax policy agenda would on average hike taxes on the nation's top 1% while cutting them for every other income group.
The new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) follows its in-depth examination of Trump's tax proposals, which the group found would cut taxes for the richest 5% of Americans and raise them for everyone else.
"The contrast between Harris and Trump on taxation could not be more clear," said ITEP executive director Amy Hanauer. "Trump's plan would widen inequality by making middle-income and low-income families pay more on average while slashing taxes for the very wealthiest. The Harris proposals would cut taxes for most regular families while raising average taxes on the richest 1% with incomes of nearly a million a year or more."
ITEP found that if Harris' proposals—including an expansion of the Child Tax Credit, an extension of elements of the 2017 Trump-GOP tax law for those with annual incomes below $400,000, and Medicare tax reforms that would raise levies for those with yearly incomes above $400,000—were in effect in 2026, "the richest 1% of Americans would receive an average tax increase equal to 4.1% of their income."
"Other income groups would receive tax cuts, including an average tax cut equal to 2.7% of income for the middle fifth of Americans and an average tax cut equal to 7% of income for the poorest fifth of Americans," ITEP said.
The group estimated that under Harris' proposals, the poorest 20% of Americans would see an average tax cut of $1,130 in 2026 while the richest 1% would see an average increase of $121,460.
ITEP also published a chart comparing the distributional impacts of the Harris and Trump tax plans:
The top 1% in the United States is currently richer than ever, collectively owning nearly $45 trillion in wealth as of the end of last year—a record high.
Rich Americans' rapid accumulation of wealth in recent years was fueled by the 2017 Trump-GOP tax cuts, which added over $2 trillion to the combined net worth of the nation's billionaires while doing little for the working class.
Steve Wamhoff, ITEP's federal policy director, said Wednesday that "if you are among the richest 1% who benefited a great deal from the Trump tax cuts or a foreign investor who benefited from Trump's corporate tax cuts, you would pay more under Harris' plan."
"But everyone else would pay less overall," said Wamhoff, "because Harris would use the tax code to help Americans with the costs of raising children, obtaining health insurance and housing, and other costs, and she would extend previously enacted policies to the extent that they benefit the middle class."
