A recent study found that the national debt would rise under both Trump and Harris’ proposals. However, Trump’s plan would add $4 trillion more than Harris’ plan.
A new analysis has found that both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have proposed numerous promises to voters, including making housing and health care more affordable, supporting manufacturers, and providing tax relief to millions of Americans.
However, these proposals come with substantial costs, and the candidates have not detailed how they would cover these expenses. As a result, the national debt would increase significantly regardless of the election outcome, further exacerbating the country’s fiscal challenges.
The analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget revealed that Harris’ plan would raise the debt by $3.5 trillion over the next decade, while Trump’s platform would lead to a $7.5 trillion increase.
The committee’s estimates are based on official campaign announcements, websites, white papers, social media posts, speeches, discussions with campaign staff, similar proposals in presidents’ budgets, and other sources. However, due to the lack of detailed platforms, the estimates contain a wide range of uncertainty and assumptions.
The committee’s analysis provided a range of cost estimates, indicating that Harris’ measures could have no significant impact on the debt or could increase it by $8.1 trillion. Similarly, Trump’s proposals could raise the debt by anywhere between $1.5 trillion and $15.2 trillion.
It is also uncertain how Americans and companies might change their behavior if these policies were to be implemented, and most of these proposals would require congressional approval.
Despite bipartisan calls to address the nation’s heavy debt burden, neither Harris nor Trump has discussed reducing the current $35.7 trillion debt. The federal government’s ongoing deficit spending has led to a swift increase in the debt, prompting concerns from experts, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, about the nation’s unsustainable fiscal trajectory.
The Trump campaign disputed the committee’s analysis, emphasizing its opposition to the 2017 tax cuts law and highlighting the potential for robust, non-inflationary growth to generate more federal revenue. The campaign asserted that Trump’s plan would control wasteful spending, combat inflation, reduce interest costs, and stimulate economic growth to boost federal revenue.
The Harris campaign strongly disagreed with the analysis and stated that her budgets would reduce the deficit. It referred to other studies indicating that her proposals could potentially decrease the deficit, depending on the extension of tax cuts and adoption of President Joe Biden’s tax proposals.
Harris has put forth several proposals, with the most expensive one being the extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions for individuals earning less than $400,000 annually, which has been estimated to cost $3 trillion by the committee. The individual income and estate tax provisions of the law are set to expire at the end of 2025.
Following this, there is a proposal to expand the child tax credit and earned income tax credit, amounting to a cost of $1.4 trillion. Additionally, there is a plan to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, which would add $550 billion to the overall expenditure.
Harris’ proposals for supporting affordable housing, manufacturers, and small businesses, as well as eliminating taxes on tips, improving border security, and strengthening education and the care economy, including establishing a national paid family and medical leave program, were included in the committee’s report. These proposals are estimated to have a total cost of $2.3 trillion.
Some of these items were based on measures found in Biden administration budgets and packages as models because Harris has not yet revealed more detailed policies.
To partially offset the cost of her platform, Harris plans to raise the corporate tax and capital gains rates to 28%, along with increasing other taxes on wealthier Americans and big corporations, although it is not expected that these measures will fully cover the expenses. The committee assumes that Harris will propose many of the revenue-raising provisions in Biden’s budget, as her campaign has indicated her support for them.
Trump wants to extend almost all the provisions of the 2017 tax cuts law, a notable accomplishment in his first term. However, he would increase the cost with other measures, such as removing the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions and reinstating companies’ ability to immediately deduct investments in equipment and research. In total, this would amount to nearly $5.4 trillion.
Trump has made commitments to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits, and to lower the corporate tax rate to 15% for domestic manufacturers. These actions are projected to decrease revenue by $3.8 trillion.
The committee’s agenda also includes strengthening the military, securing the border, deporting unauthorized immigrants, implementing housing reforms, and providing increased support for health care, long-term care, and caregiving.
Trump has consistently stated that the proposed new tariffs, ranging from 10% to 20% on all foreign imports to the US and up to 60% on Chinese imports, would finance his plans.
However, the committee estimates that these tariffs would generate between $2 trillion and $4.3 trillion over ten years, which may not be sufficient to cover Trump’s agenda. Moreover, there would be consequences, as most economists agree that tariffs would lead to higher prices for imported goods.
An across-the-board 10% tariff combined with a 60% tariff on Chinese-made goods could cost the average middle-class household about $1,700 annually, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The Tax Policy Center also suggested an impact of $1,350 per year for middle-income households.
In addition, there is the prospect of retaliatory tariffs from other countries, which could lead to a trade war and slow down the US economy, consequently reducing government revenue.
Furthermore, Trump has pledged to expand energy production, abolish the Department of Education, and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, which could potentially raise or save nearly $1.1 trillion, according to the committee’s findings.
This report has been updated with comments from the Harris and Trump campaigns, contributed by CNN’s Katie Lobosco and Matt Egan.