Vice President Kamala Harris is on track to replace President Biden as the Democratic Party's nominee for president in Chicago this month, but will she replace his tax policy agenda? The conventional wisdom is that Harris may not have the time to stray far from the Biden administration's tax agenda as laid out in its most recent budget. That may be true to some extent, but candidates for president, especially sitting vice presidents, often look for ways to assert new policies as a fully independent national candidate. 

Given Vice President Harris's quick ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket and the (understandably) few specifics she's given on tax policy so far, the best way to look into the future is to look at the past.

As a Senator, Vice President Harris was not particularly focused on tax issues. Her notable foray into tax policy was the LIFT Act, which proposed a monthly refundable credit of up to $3,000 for individuals with incomes below $30,000 ($6,000 for joint filers with incomes below $60,000). She also suggested a tax on banks with $50 billion in assets to help offset the bill's multi-trillion-dollar revenue impact. The cost alone kept the bill from receiving any serious consideration. She also voted against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), as did all her Democratic colleagues. 

In 2019, Vice President Harris launched a 10-month presidential campaign. While it shuttered before the first primary, it did put Harris on the record regarding serious tax proposals. On the campaign trail, then-candidate Harris backed or proposed a set of policies that put her to the left of President Biden, including:

• Repealing the TCJA in its entirety, including returning the corporate tax rate to 35 percent
• Taxing stock trades at 0.2 percent, bond trades at 0.1 percent, and derivative transactions at 0.002 percent
• An income-based employer "Medicare-for-all" premium tax
• A "more progressive income, payroll, and estate tax" focused on corporations and the top one percent of individuals
• Taxing capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income

She did not put forth any specific international tax proposals on the 2019 campaign trail but did note, "I would also end foreign tax shelters by taxing offshore corporate income at the same rate as domestic corporate income."

It is notable that Vice President Harris has since indicated that she agrees with President Biden's position supporting an extension of the TCJA's tax reductions for those earning less than $400,000. It is yet to be seen whether she will adopt other Biden proposals, such as the proposed increase in the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, rather than the 35 percent rate she proposed in 2019. 

We expect Vice President Harris to largely embrace President Biden's tax policy record and the administration's proposed changes, but we wouldn't be surprised if Harris unveils some voter-friendly individual tax proposals as her campaign engines get started. We'll learn more in the days leading up to Vice President Harris's nomination and during her acceptance speech set for August 22 in Chicago. #TaxTake

In the News

Marc discussed Vice President Kamala Harris' tax proposals on CNBC. "Given the short period of time, given her focus on other issues... it may be that she, in fact, inherits the Biden budget proposal."

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