Election 2024: Where the Candidates Stand on Personal Finance Issues – NerdWallet

Place tariffs on imports. Trump needs to position a ten% to twenty% tariff on all overseas imports; as much as 60% tariff on imports from China; and 100% to 200% imports on cars produced in Mexico. He says his tariffs would assist U.S. manufacturing and lift income. However specialists from all around the political spectrum say that his tariff plan is extra prone to enhance costs within the U.S. 

Decrease fuel costs. Trump has pledged to extend oil and fuel manufacturing on federal lands. The president’s means to decrease fuel costs is proscribed as the value on the pump is extra instantly influenced by world market forces. 

Weaken the facility of the Federal Reserve. Trump says he needs to deliver the Federal Reserve underneath the facility of the president; specialists say it may weaken the central financial institution’s credibility in making rate of interest choices. 

Cap bank card rates of interest at round 10%. The typical bank card rate of interest is 21.51%, based on Federal Reserve information from Might 2024. It will require Congress to enact and would probably face authorized pushback. 

Ban value gouging. Harris needs to create guidelines that might forestall company grocers from elevating costs arbitrarily. The ban would require approval by Congress. Critics say her plan is principally an election promise fairly than a sound financial coverage. 

Decrease prescription drug prices. Harris plans to increase to all Individuals a $35 cap on insulin and $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket bills for seniors. She additionally needs to make it faster and simpler for Medicare and different federal packages to barter prescription drug costs. Consultants say her plans might be efficient in bringing down prices, however will face pushback from Massive Pharma lobbyists.  

Improve the minimal wage. Harris says she would push to lift the federal minimal wage to at the very least $15 per hour, up from the present minimal wage of $7.25. The federal minimal wage hasn’t been touched since 2009 and elevating it will require approval in Congress. 

Prolong tax cuts in his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which might be expiring on the finish of subsequent 12 months. The TCJA consists of property tax cuts and particular person earnings tax cuts. 

Exchange private earnings taxes with tariffs. His new plan would place a ten% across-the-board tariff on overseas imports with way more for China. Extra on that above. 

Decrease the company tax fee by one share level. Trump needs to chop the company tax fee from 21% to twenty%. 

Implement R&D tax credit for companies. The tax credit would permit companies to write down off 100% of bills in its first 12 months, together with equipment and gear. It’s a reversal of his 2017 tax cuts that phased out write-offs for R&D bills in a enterprise’ first 12 months. 

Improve taxes for the rich. Harris needs to lift the web funding earnings tax as much as 5% on these with incomes above $400,000. She additionally needs to extend the best tax fee on long-term capital good points to twenty-eight% on taxable earnings above $1 million. 

Improve taxes for firms. 

Broaden Baby Tax Credit score: Harris needs to extend the credit score to $6,000 for kids underneath the age of 1; $3,600 for kids ages 2-5; and $3,000 for older kids. 

Completely lengthen the expanded premium tax credit for many who buy medical health insurance via the medical health insurance market.  

Improve tax incentives for small companies. A rise in federal tax incentives from $5,000 to $50,000. The deduction can be out there to new companies till they flip a revenue. The inducement feeds into her aim of making 25 million new small companies within the subsequent 4 years. 

Revisit the Inexpensive Care Act. Trump tried to repeal and exchange the Inexpensive Care Act in his first time period, however was unsuccessful. Through the presidential debate on Sept. 10, he was requested if he would strive once more. In response, Trump stated he had solely “ideas” of a brand new plan.

Push for vitro fertilization (IVF) protection. Trump has stated the federal government or insurance coverage firms ought to cowl IVF, although many within the GOP oppose the thought. 

Go away abortion legal guidelines as much as the states. He says he would veto any federal ban on abortion. 

Broaden Medicare protection to incorporate long-term care together with at-home look after seniors and people with disabilities. She additionally guarantees to supply imaginative and prescient and listening to advantages for seniors underneath Medicare. 

Work with states to eradicate medical debt.

Decrease prescription drug prices. See above. 

Restore federal protections for abortion entry underneath Roe v. Wade. Harris additionally guarantees to make sure there’ll by no means be a federal ban on abortion. 

Open up federal lands for brand spanking new housing developments. Neither has specified which lands that would come with, however specialists say a lot of the federally held land wouldn’t be splendid for creating new housing. There may be priority for utilizing federal land to construct housing; most out there land is within the West.  

Lower crimson tape. Lowering regulatory burden has bipartisan assist, however most housing reform would must be executed on the native stage to have an effect.

Construct 3 million new properties over 4 years. Consultants say her proposals would probably spur further new housing creation, however constructing 3 million new properties in that in need of a time period is unlikely. 

Add tax incentives for residence builders. Harris proposed a brand new Neighborhood Properties Tax Credit score to create 400,000 new owner-occupied properties in decrease earnings communities and a tax break for builders that assemble reasonably priced starter properties. 

Create a $40 billion innovation fund to incentivize stakeholders — state and native governments, in addition to personal builders and homebuilders — to search out new methods to broaden the housing provide.  

Introduce $25,000 in down cost help for first-time residence consumers. It will be even larger for first-generation residence consumers, however has not elaborated how a lot. It’s unclear how it will be carried out and specialists say that with no larger housing inventory, her plan received’t work. 

Decrease lease and stop price-fixing amongst company landlords. Consultants are skeptical that her plans would decrease lease. Nonetheless, if a major inventory of recent housing is created, it may alleviate some value pressures on the rental market. 

Curb debt cancellation. Trump would probably not assist broad pupil mortgage cancellation or strengthening different forgiveness plans that the Biden-Harris administration has championed. Trump has additionally stated that entry to current mortgage forgiveness ought to be restricted, together with the Public Service Mortgage Forgiveness (PSLF) program.  

Dissolve SAVE. Trump is prone to strike down SAVE, an income-driven compensation program that’s presently caught up in authorized challenges.

Assist vocational coaching. Trump’s platform says it will assist creating “drastically extra reasonably priced options to a standard four-year school diploma.”  

Assist “Plan B” pupil mortgage forgiveness. Harris would probably assist Biden’s “Plan B” that would scale back or eradicate accrued curiosity for 23 million debtors who owe greater than they initially borrowed. The plan is presently wrapped up in state authorized battles. 

Assist SAVE and different income-driven compensation plans. Harris would probably assist the SAVE compensation plan via authorized battles. She would additionally assist the continuation of different income-driven compensation plans, together with PSLF, in addition to the borrower protection to compensation program that protects debtors who’re defrauded or misled by their schools. 

Champion free neighborhood school and commerce college schooling. She additionally says she needs to subsidize tuition at Minority Serving Establishments, together with Traditionally Black Schools and Universities (HBCUs).

Broaden the Pell Grant. She plans to broaden grants to 7 million college students and double the utmost award by 2029. Pell Grants are given to undergraduates from low-income backgrounds and are presently as much as $7,395 per 12 months. 

Rising prices economy-wide. Lowered labor provide that might enhance prices for companies and, finally, be handed all the way down to the buyer. It will particularly impression the hospitality and repair industries that depend on immigrant employees. 

Driving up meals costs. Immigrants make up a big portion of the agricultural workforce. With out that labor, the meals provide within the U.S. may tighten, which might drive up costs. 

Slowing housing development since immigrants play an enormous half within the creation of housing within the U.S. This might additional worsen the nation’s reasonably priced housing scarcity.