Tax policy has become a topic of discussion in the 2024 Republican presidential primary after a super PAC attached to former President Donald Trump attacked Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for previously voting for a replacement to most taxes with an increased sales tax.
Economic policy can be a driving force for elections, and the candidates in the GOP field have each touted their own record on the topic. Here is what some of the top Republican candidates have said about their tax policy.
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Former President Donald Trump
Trump’s campaign has touted tax cuts passed under his administration that saw individual income taxes lowered and other changes to the tax code.
“President Donald J. Trump passed record-setting tax relief for the middle class, doubled the child tax credit, and slashed more job-killing regulations than any administration had ever done before,” his campaign website said.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced taxes across the board. It lowered the average federal tax rate from 20.8% to 19.3% for all filers, according to a 2021 report from the Congressional Budget Office.
Going forward, Trump’s campaign touts “lower taxes, bigger paychecks, and more jobs for American workers” as his vision for the economy, accusing President Joe Biden of being the “destroyer of America’s jobs” and continuing to fuel inflation.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL)
DeSantis’s recently launched campaign has said the country needs to be “embracing Fiscal and economic sanity.” The governor has also touted tax cuts within his state.
The tax cuts in the Sunshine State that DeSantis is touting amount to “$2.7 billion in tax relief during the 2023–2024 fiscal year,” according to the governor’s office. Provisions in the bill include a permanent exemption from taxes on baby and toddler “necessities,” lower property taxes, and various tax holidays for school supplies and disaster preparation.
“Because of President Biden’s disastrous economic policies, Florida families are feeling the pressure of inflation on their wallets,” DeSantis said in a statement on Friday.
“But in Florida, we are ensuring that our state’s economic success gets passed on to the people that made it possible. I will continue to push smart fiscal policy that will allow Florida families to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets. Stronger families make a stronger Florida.”
DeSantis, who served in the House of Representatives from 2013 until 2018, also voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which Trump has touted.
Nikki Haley
Haley’s campaign touts her record as governor of South Carolina from 2011 until 2017 and the tax cuts she signed into law in 2014.
“Nikki cut taxes, nixed burdensome government regulations, and made small businesses a state priority. At the end of Governor Haley’s tenure, more South Carolinians were working than at any other time in history, and South Carolina was outperforming the national average. Thanks to her efforts, South Carolina’s economy was nicknamed ‘the Beast of the Southeast,’” Haley’s campaign website says.
The 2012 tax cuts in the Palmetto State dropped the income tax rate for small-business owners from 5% to 3%.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC)
Scott’s campaign touts the South Carolina senator as being the “lead author” of the 2017 tax cuts, which Trump also touts.
“Slashed taxes for families, brought jobs and investment back from overseas, and created Opportunity Zones to inject private dollars into communities that have been left behind. We spurred high employment, low inflation, and fast wage growth for the working class,” Scott’s campaign website says.
Scott’s campaign also accuses Biden of having “taxed, borrowed, and spent trillions of dollars trying to replace a hand up with handouts” and vows to make “tax cuts permanent.”
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Trump currently leads the Republican field, and DeSantis is solidly behind him in second place, according to polling data. Haley, Scott, and other candidates trail the two Florida men significantly.
DeSantis and Scott announced their candidacies this week, adding to the field of Republicans vying to unseat Biden in 2024.
