For a number of Californians, the notion of Donald Trump winning the presidency was more Hollywood fiction than reality. It now appears that life is imitation art, as Trump has now been elected the 45th President of the United States.
While Trump won’t take office until January 2017, most are speculating about the proposed tax overhaul that was widely speculated during the campaign. From a pure political standpoint, Trump may have some work to do mending fences with House Republicans, particularly House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin).
However, it appears that Trump’s tax proposals closely resembles those proposed by House Republicans, including the consolidation of the seven existing income tax rates into just three; with rates starting at 12 percent for the lowest earners, 25 percent for middle-class earners, and capping at 33 percent for the highest earners.
Further, both favor increasing the standard deduction that would benefit both joint and single filers. Trump’s proposal calls for a $30,000 standard deduction for joint filers with a $15,000 deduction for single filers. House Republicans call for a $24,000 deduction for joint filers, with an $18,000 deduction available for single parents, and only a $12,000 deduction for single filers with no children.
Perhaps the most anticipated measure of reform involves the corporate tax rate, which has long been reviled as the most expensive among industrialized nations at 35 percent, and the impetus for many inversion deals that allow corporations to move their headquarters overseas to avoid paying income tax on their earning in the United States.
To many political analysts, Trump’s candidacy and eventual victory is unprecedented. It remains to be seen whether his work in Washington will yield the same results.