The Tax Foundation has a useful interactive page that compares the tax reform proposals of the 2016 presidential contenders. Donald Trump's release of his plan this week — on his web site and with a Wall Street Journal op-ed — allows the following comparison to be made:
Marco Rubio | 35% |
Jeb Bush | 28% |
Donald Trump | 25% |
Rand Paul | 14.5% |
And this one:
Marco Rubio | 25% |
Jeb Bush | 20% |
Donald Trump | 15% |
And this one:
Jeb Bush | 20% |
Donald Trump | 20% |
Rand Paul | 14.5% |
Marco Rubio | 0% |
I haven't included the candidates such as Carson, Fiorina, Kasich, and Cruz, who have not issued detailed plans.
Analysis: Mr. Trump's marginal rates get him in below Mr. Rubio and Mr. Bush everywhere except on Mr. Rubio's 0% tax on capital gains and dividends income, which is an outlier. All these plans would be a reduction from the current federal regime of a 39.6% top individual income rate, a 23.8% top capital gains rate, and a 35% top corporate income tax rate. Mr. Trump might wind up raising tariffs on imports if he follows through on his plan to renegotiate trade agreements such as NAFTA. The proposed rates just wind up getting increased in negotiations with Democrats and the left-leaning press (call the Squad Squad on me for that redundancy), so there's some logic in starting out with an opening bid lower than what you think you might eventually want to end up with in a final compromise.
I'm not a big Trump fan, but the 25% number has some major symbolic resonance, as I explained back in 2011 in a post here headlined A 25% Top Tax Rate. Please go back and read it if you don't remember it or if you missed it back in 2011. It will be worth your time.