One of the most consequential tasks facing the new president and Congress will be the potential to remake the tax code in 2025.
Republicans structured the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to expire at the beginning of the next president's term. The bill was one of then-President Donald Trump's signature pieces of legislation, and the expiration of those tax changes gives whoever is elected the opportunity to revisit major portions of the tax code.
The legislation lowered the corporate tax rate to 21%, down from 35%. Additionally, the law allowed businesses to write off new investments, adjusted tax brackets and increased the child tax credit. It also reduced the estate tax and offered tax deductions for business owners — two items that typically help wealthy taxpayers.
Whether — and how — the tax policy gets altered will depend on who's in the White House and the makeup of Congress.
Both Vice President Harris and Trump have proposed extending portions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. A report from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that extending the law would total $3 trillion under Harris' plan and $5.4 trillion under Trump's.
As NPR's Luke Garrett reported, Harris is proposing that Americans earning less than $400,000 a year will maintain the benefit from the Trump-era tax cuts, but not those making above that level. As for Trump, he has said he wants to "make the Trump tax cuts permanent."
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