Have you thought about how the world could change if the likely frigid morning of January 20 echoes with these words: “I Hillary Rodham Clinton do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States…”?
To some, the prospect is invigorating. To others, it’s terrifying. To WalletHub, however, the question is at least somewhat quantifiable. They crunched the numbers on what’s likely in store for everything from GDP growth and the S&P 500 to tax rates and healthcare coverage should Sec. Clinton become the second President Clinton on Election Day. Below, you can check out what we found, along with commentary from experts in each category. You can also learn what the other side of the coin has in store for us from the corresponding report on a Trump victory.
| Area Of Interest | Projected Impact |
|---|---|
| Personal Taxes | Higher tax rate (43.6%) for people who make $5M+ |
| Corporate Taxes | Close various loopholes and regulate high-frequency trading |
| Stock Market | Historically, market has increased by an average of 13.84% with a Divided Congress |
| Unemployment | Spend $125B on job-creation initiatives |
| Education | Debt-free college for families who earn less than $125K per year; Common Core remains |
| Social Security | No Higher retirement age and payroll tax cap ($250K); no privatized Social Security; |
| Health Care | ACA improvements; Immigrants allowed to participate |
| Minimum Wage | Higher federal minimum ($12/hr.) |
Personal Taxes
| Annual Income | Clinton’s Proposed Tax Rate | Current Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $5,000,000+ | 43.6% | 39.6% |
| $415,050 to $4,999,999.99 | 39.6% | 39.6% |
| $413,350 to $415,049.99 | 35.0% | 35.0% |
| $190,150 to $413,349.99 | 33.0% | 33.0% |
| $91,150 to $190,149.99 | 28.0% | 28.0% |
| $37,650 to $91,149.99 | 25.0% | 25.0% |
| $9,275 to $37,649.99 | 15.0% | 15.0% |
| $0 to $9,274.99 | 10.0% | 10.0% |
Other Notable Tax Policy Changes
| Issue | Clinton’s Stance | Clinton’s Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Estate Tax | Permanently reduce the tax threshold for estates to $3.5 million ($7 million for married couples) with no adjustment for future inflation Increase the top rate to 45% percent Establish $1 million lifetime gift tax exemption |
“Then there’s the Estate Tax, which Trump wants to eliminate altogether. If you believe that he’s as wealthy as he says, that alone would save the Trump family $4 billion. It would do nothing for 99.8 percent of Americans. So they’d get a $4 billion tax cut, and 99.8 percent of Americans get nothing.” |
| Caregiver Benefits | Cap child care costs at 10% of income Create tax credit for caregivers of elderly or disabled relatives |
“[Raising children] is the most important job that any of us can do, and we are making it really expensive and very difficult. If we don’t support families, we don’t support making our country or any community as strong as it can and should be.” |
| Itemized Deductions | Cap all itemized deductions at a tax value of 28%, with exception for charitable contributions | “As a result of loopholes and the ‘private tax system’ of lawyers and accountants who enable complex strategies to shelter and lower the bill on income for the most fortunate, some of the wealthiest taxpayers continue to pay low effective rates on their income.” |
| Retirement Accounts | Close the “Romney loophole” on individual retirement accounts | “[Billions of dollars] are drained from retirement accounts because of high fees and conflicts of interest in the investment management industry.” |
| Alternative Minimum Tax | Retain the AMT | “I said that I’m in favor of doing something about the AMT. How we do it and how we put the package together, everybody knows, is extremely complicated. … I want to get to a fair and progressive tax system. The AMT has to be part of what we try to change when I’m president.” |
