Survey of 2020 Presidential campaign websites: on Tax Reform

Jo Jorgensen: Slash spending; shrink government; keep what you earn

Mike Bloomberg: 5% surtax on income above $5 million a year

Mike will tax the wealthy on equal terms with workers. He'll tax capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income for taxpayers above $1 million. Mike will attack the loopholes and complexities that benefit the wealthy at the expense of working families. His plan will close the "pass-through" 20% deduction that lets many rich taxpayers pay less, and he will end the "like-kind" provision that lets real-estate investors defer tax indefinitely.

Howie Hawkins: Graduated wealth tax & graduated estate tax

PEACE
• Transition from Forward-Based Imperialism to Home-Based Defense
• A Global Green New Deal--Invest the Peace Dividend from Military Spending Cuts in Clean Energy and Basic Human Needs

• lncome and Wealth Taxes
• More Progressive Personal Income Taxes
• Higher Corporate Income Taxes
• A Graduated Wealth Tax
• A Graduated Estate Tax
• Eco-Taxes
• A Progressive Carbon Tax with Rebates to Low-to-Moderate Income People
• A Land Value Tax on Unearned Appreciation of Land Site Values Due to Social Investments

• Instant-Runoff Voting for President
• Abolish the Electoral College
• Proportional Representation in Congress
• Abolish the US Senate
• End Voter Suppression
• Promote Community Assemblies with a Federal Grant Program
• Full Public Campaign Financing
• Adopt the We the People Amendment--End the Corporate Personhood and the Money Is Speech Doctrines

Mike Gravel: Automatic return-free tax system by online IRS filing option

The United States should:
• Have the IRS create a free online tax prep and filing program similar to TurboTax or others, ensuring that almost no one has to pay to file their taxes.
• Ban the IRS from collaborating with tax filing companies as they do right now, abolishing the corporatized Free File program that less than 3% of the population uses.
• Establish a "return-free" filing option to allow millions of Americans with a straightforward tax situation to choose a pre-prepared, simple filing process that comes with their tax return already calculated and immediately redeemed.

Mike Gravel: Progressive tax: 60% at $1 million, and up from there

The United States should:
• Repatriate all wealth currently residing in off-shore tax havens and that are therefore avoiding taxation, with a one-time tax rate of 24 per cent.
• Institute a tax on all financial transactions--a Tobin spot tax--on all speculative financial transactions, including but not limited to foreign exchange trading.
• Marginal tax of all income over $1 million at 60 percent, incomes over $5 million at 70 percent, incomes over $10 million at 80 percent, and incomes over $20 million at 95 percent.
• Raise the capital gains tax.
• Explore a progressive tax on initial public offerings, to increase as the size of the IPO increases.
• Eliminate tax expenditures that benefit the wealthy.

Andrew Yang: Revenue Day: make paying taxes a celebration

As President, I will...
• Create a federal holiday on the date taxes are due.
• Provide a report to every taxpayer with a breakdown of where their tax dollars go.
• Allow each American to direct 1% of their taxes to a specific project, department or activity of government (e.g. Veterans Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, etc.).
• Bring 2 taxpayers who filed their taxes early from each state to a celebration at the White House on Revenue Day.

Howard Schultz: Tax cuts for the middle class; but wealthy pay more

We need to talk about reforming the tax code. Not with bumper-sticker slogans, but with tax cuts for the middle class and small businesses to spur hiring and economic growth. I myself should be paying higher taxes, and all wealthy Americans should have to pay their fair share. I think we can all agree on that. Let's create the predictable, simple, and fair tax system America needs and deserves. And by the way, the people deserve to see the tax return of anybody who is running for president.