Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s tax records

Just days into their candidacies, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have yet to release detailed policy proposals, but their backgrounds give us an idea of ​​the kinds of policies they might pursue in office.

Harris does not have a distinct fiscal record, though her campaign told The New York Times on Friday that it would stick close to the policies proposed by President Joe Biden in his latest budget, which called for about $3 trillion in net deficit reduction over the next decade , paid for by higher taxes on corporations and higher incomes.

Nikhita Airi of the Fiscal Policy Center wrote this week that some of the key questions for a Harris tax platform include how she plans to raise revenue, what she plans to do about the tax cuts that expire in 2017, her approach to on tariffs and its support for improved financing. for the IRS.

Walz, on the other hand, has been governor for nearly six years and has a fiscal record that includes increased tax credits as well as tax increases. Some issues, as discussed by Richard C. Auxier of the Urban-Brookings Fiscal Policy Center:

* The largest child tax credit in the US: Minnesota increased its child tax credit in 2021 to $1,750 per child. Due to relatively broad eligibility rules, the fully repayable loan is available to a significant number of families in the state.

* Tax reductions for social security beneficiaries: In 2023, Minnesota eliminated income taxes on Social Security benefits for single people earning less than $78,000 and married people earning less than $100,000 a year. The policy costs the state between $250 million and $300 million a year, or about 1 percent of revenue.

* Tax increases for high-income households and corporations: A tax package signed by Walz in 2023 offered an across-the-board tax cut but included some tax increases. Among other things, the bill capped deductions for households earning more than $220,000 a year and created a new capital gains tax. It also imposed a minimum tax on corporations operating in the state.

* A payroll tax to fund the paid leave program: Walz created a 0.7 percent payroll tax to fund a new paid family and medical leave program, the first in the Midwest.

* Pot fee: Marijuana sales will be legal in Minnesota starting in 2025, and Walz approved a 10 percent sales tax on legal weed.

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