Washington, D.C. — In the past four months, voter familiarity with Project 2025 has surged from 10 percent to nearly 80 percent. Despite this, many middle-class families remain uncertain about the potential impacts of the Project 2025 agenda on their lives.
A recent column from the Center for American Progress (CAP) scrutinizes Project 2025’s plan to raise taxes for the middle class by thousands of dollars while proposing long-term changes that could increase middle-class taxes by $5,900. The analysis also indicates that while middle-class taxes would rise significantly, the wealthiest Americans and large corporations would benefit from substantial tax cuts.
Key findings from the analysis include:
- **Shift to Consumption Tax**: Project 2025's long-term plan would shift the tax burden towards middle-class and poor Americans through a consumption tax. This would result in an average $5,900 tax increase for the middle 20 percent of households and an average $2 million tax cut for the top 0.1 percent. Replacing all income taxes with a value-added tax—a form of consumption tax—would necessitate at least a 45 percent tax on goods and services, increasing prices significantly.
- **Immediate Tax Reform**: The immediate reform proposed by Project 2025 includes a $3,000 tax increase for a median family of four earning $110,000. Eliminating the child tax credit and earned income tax credit would further increase taxes on low- and middle-income families.
- **Tax Cuts for Wealthy Households**: Project 2025 plans to reduce taxes for households earning more than $10 million by $1.5–2.4 million. This includes slashing taxes on investment income for these households.
- **Corporate Tax Cuts**: The plan proposes reducing the corporate tax rate to 18 percent, resulting in a $24 billion tax cut for America's largest companies based on their latest financial statements. This includes significant cuts for major oil companies (Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Marathon Petroleum/ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, and Valero Energy) and leading drug manufacturers (Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, AbbVie, and Bristol-Myers Squibb).
“Project 2025 doubles down on making the wealthiest Americans and big corporations pay less than their fair share,” said Brendan Duke, senior director for economic policy at CAP and author of the column. “This plan makes the majority of Americans’ worst fears of an unfair tax system a reality, handing out billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthiest in America and forcing middle-class families to foot the bill.”
The full column can be read under "Project 2025’s Tax Plan Would Raise Taxes on the Middle Class and Cut Taxes for the Wealthy" by Brendan Duke.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Jasmine Razeghi at [email protected].
