After a year of unprecedented government spending amid the coronavirus pandemic, how revenue will be collected to pursue future aid and to keep running the United States is under scrutiny. Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden have significantly disparate views on tax collection in their platforms for the presidency.
Top Earners
Largely, the president would like to keep in place his 2017 income tax cuts (set to expire in 2025) that provided a reduction on the top marginal rate from 40 to 37 percent for the wealthiest earners.
Biden plans to return the rate back to near 40 percent and eliminate the $10,000 cap on state and local deductions that had the effect of raising taxes on households in high-tax states such as New York and California.
Middle-Income Earners
Both candidates say they want to cut taxes on households in the middle brackets. President Trump made a proposal prior to COVID-19 that would have lowered the 22 percent tax bracket down to 15 percent.
Meanwhile, Biden offers more incentivized tax breaks to encourage retirement savings, child care spending, and first-time home buying.
Corporate Taxes
Trump is sticking to the reduction made by his 2017 tax law that lowered corporate taxes to 21 percent from 35 percent.
Challenger Joe Biden would like that rate to be bumped up to 28 percent.
Both men offer plans to create tax incentives for domestic manufacturing.
Capital Gains
The 2020 presidential candidates differ particularly in taxing profits on stocks. President Trump would like to drop the top current rate from 20 percent to 15 percent and has even considered a temporary capital gains tax holiday.
Former Vice President Biden, however, plans to change existing rules in order to tax profits as ordinary income, which could potentially lead to a 40 percent tax on top earners on profits of more than $1 million.
With contradictory reports about Russian troops pulling back or being added to the border with Ukraine and the expulsion of a U.S. diplomat from Russia, tensions in the region appear to be escalating. Jack Detsch, a Pentagon and national security reporter for Foreign Policy, joined Cheddar News to break down the situation. "Certainly a different tone out of Moscow today and a different tone out of the West. Even as the Kremlin has made the case that troops are moving back, the U.S. is saying that is certainly not the case with the satellite imagery that we have pouring in," he said.
New York City's famous subway system is currently facing scrutiny after several recent attacks on platforms. Now, local leaders in the Big Apple are calling on the MTA. To step in and take action.
Tensions in Ukraine continue to rise. According to NATO and U.S. officials, Russian troops are still being built up despite Moscow's claims of de-escalation. However, Ukraine does not believe the troops are enough to mount an invasion. The government in Kyiv has also reported several cyber attacks against its defense agencies and banks which is the largest attack in the country's history. Foreign Affairs Reporter based in Ukrain, Terrell Starr, joined Cheddar to discuss more
A Senate bill unveiled on Wednesday looks to tackleonline safety for children by regulating Big Tech and social media platforms to deter users from content that can harm their mental health. Irene Ly, a policy counsel for the age-based ratings and review organization Common Sense Media, joined Cheddar News to break down the potential of the Kids Online Safety Act. "We can't be imposing such a big burden on parents to be doing it all on theirselves," Ly said. "I think you also have to keep in mind that parents often didn't grow up with social media, so they don't understand what it's like to be addicted to social media or really understand how they work."
The Federal Reserve minutes from its January meeting are indicating it's sticking to an interest rate hike in March, but what does the report coupled with ongoing inflation mean for investors going forward? Scott Brown, a market strategist at LPL Financial, joined Cheddar News to break down the minutes and talk about how investors might navigate the rest of the year. "it seems like the market is kind of inclined to trade off these headlines, really, through the first half of the year," he said. "And then, oh, don't forget, we've got midterm elections, which always tend to add a little bit of volatility in the second half of the year." Brown noted that the path forward for stock investors in 2022 would be "rockier" than last year.
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced a new bill to afford greater protection to minors on social media. The genesis of the Kids Online Safety Act came from a Facebook whistleblower case exposing the harm apps can have on the mental health of young girls.
The Chinese government brought the sitcom "Friends" back to its streaming services. However, it had instances of LGBTQ+ references left out, after the series had been banned on Chinese streaming platforms for years.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a national public order emergency as a 'last resort' to restore order after protests have significantly disrupted daily life and impacted the local economy since the protests began. It is the first time in 50 years a Canadian government has taken this type of action. Myah Ward, breaking news reporter at Politico, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Almost a decade after facing a parent's worst nightmare, the families of the young students killed in the Sandy Hook School shooting reached a settlement with gun manufacturer Remington, makers of the Bushmaster AR-15 used in the crime. David Pucino, deputy chief counsel, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence joined Cheddar News to discuss the families' case and how its strategy brought about the legal settlement. "They built a really great case showing the way that Bushmaster developed its advertising to drive sales using those toxic messages.
