United States | Policy brief

The US tax code will change next year; the presidential election will determine how

Donald Trump promises cuts galore, while Kamala Harris would target the middle-class

Illustration of scissors cutting a Tax paper in half. The scissors are red and the paper is blue.
Illustration: Ben Hickey
|WASHINGTON, DC

NOT ONLY are taxes one of the only certainties in life, they are also one of the only certainties in this presidential election. That is because of the looming expiration of tax provisions passed in 2017, the main legislative accomplishment of Donald Trump’s term in the White House. This presents a fiscal cliff. By the end of 2025 whoever is president must sign new rules into law, or most Americans will see sharply higher income taxes.

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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Battle of the slashers”

From the October 12th 2024 edition

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Donald Trump speaks to the media.

Donald Trump may find it harder to dominate America’s conversation

A more fragmented media is tougher to manage

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba addresses the media after pleading not guilty to federal charges at the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson.

An FBI sting operation catches Jackson’s mayor taking big bribes

What the sensational undoing of the black leader means for Mississippi’s failing capital


Downtown of Metropolis, Illinois, showing the Super Museum and a gift shop.

America’s rural-urban divide nurtures wannabe state-splitters

What’s behind a new wave of secessionism


Does Donald Trump have unlimited authority to impose tariffs?

Yes, but other factors could hold him back

As Jack Smith exits, Donald Trump’s allies hint at retribution

The president-elect hopes to hand the Justice Department to loyalists