WASHINGTON ― Two Democratic senators with possible presidential ambitions unveiled a new plan to increase taxes on people earning more than $1 million while eliminating them for households making less than $80,500 a year, firing back at critics who have suggested a recent wave of Democratic proposals to slash taxes are poorly thought-out attempts to ape President Donald Trump.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said his proposal with Sen. Mark Kelly (Ariz.) to exempt millions of households from income taxes is actually “the opposite of the Trump plan.”
Van Hollen said Thursday in response to a HuffPost question at a press conference, “It’s hard to say that we’re embracing Donald Trump’s anti-tax message when we’re actually increasing taxes on people who make more than a million dollars every year.”
Van Hollen formally unveiled the bill Thursday as Democrats try to figure out what the party stands for ahead of the 2028 presidential election after the party lost in 2024 to a candidate promising “no tax on tips” and other populist goodies. The proposal stands little chance of becoming law anytime soon, but it’s an effort to set the agenda for Democrats when they eventually return to power.
A range of left-leaning policy wonks have complained that the proposal from Van Hollen, as well as an even bigger tax cut suggested by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), adopts Republicans’ anti-tax messaging. And a handful of Van Hollen’s Democratic colleagues have suggested cutting taxes shouldn’t be Democrats’ top priority.
