Steyer unveils proposal to cut taxes for most Americans

Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer rolled out a plan this week to cut taxes for most American households, paid for by instating a new levy on the ultra-wealthy.

Under the proposal, families making under $250,000 and individuals making less than $200,000, would receive a 10 percent cut under their current tax rate. It would apply to roughly 95 percent of Americans, the billionaire’s campaign said. For instance, someone currently paying the 24 percent tax rate would see their obligation drop to 21.6 percent.

“This working families tax package will put cash back in American pockets, rewrite the rules, revitalize the middle class, and give our party an economic vision that stands up to Donald Trump,” Steyer said in the proposal.

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Steyer’s campaign also said the candidate would push to pass the Working Families Tax Relief Act, a Democratic bill that would expand the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit, which both benefit low- and middle-income households. The legislation provides an extra $1,000 credit for children under the age of 6 and boosts the earned income tax credit by increasing the amount of credit by roughly 25 percent. Doing so would raise the income of an estimated 46 million Americans, according to Steyer’s campaign.

The proposals are part of Steyer’s broader plan to revitalize the middle class. That includes investing in American infrastructure and creating millions of new jobs, in part by investing $2 trillion over the next decade in a clean-energy transition and creating 4.6 million long-term jobs by making “significant infrastructure investments and constructing new, 100 percent clean buildings.”

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The new policy would be paid for by instating a wealth tax, rolling back President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and taxing investment income from capital gains and dividends. Steyer has previously proposed imposing a 1 percent tax on anyone worth more than $32 million, a 1.5 percent tax on wealth over $500 million and a 2 percent tax on $1 billion.

Steyer, who founded investment company Farallon Capital Management in 1986 and sold it in 2012, is campaigning heavily on the environment and addressing climate change.

His latest policy proposal comes just three weeks before the Iowa caucuses kickstarts the Democratic nominating process. Although Steyer was one of just six candidates to qualify for the debate in Des Moines this week -- he trails only former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in terms of ad spending -- he still lags in national polls.

According to an aggregate of polls from RealClearPolitics, Steyer is currently in eighth nationally.

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