Hillary Clinton recently unveiled her higher education plan to reduce college student loan debt. As the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) points out, Hillary’s plan, called the “New College Compact,” involves:
- States creating grants to reduce cost burden on students
- Free tuition at community colleges
- Cutting interest rates on student loans, although no specifics mentioned
- Investing in the GI Bill for military veterans
- Federal government support for private endowment colleges
- Expanding AmeriCorps
- Income-repayment for student loans, where loans are taken out and payments made based on a student’s projected income after college graduation
- Simplifying FAFSA, which is the form that students fill out to get financial aid from the federal government
- With grants and other incentives, pushing colleges to raise graduation rates and improve child care for students
- Target for-profit institutions for using “deceptive marketing” and “fraud”
- Paying for all the above by eliminating tax deductions for undefined, wealthy Americans
According to ATR’s estimates, this plan will, at least, increase income taxes for 23,000 families in New Hampshire based off on her proposal. ATR added:
The $350 billion tax hike over ten years comes in the form of a 28 percent cap on itemized deductions. This creates a new Alternative Minimum Tax.
“By capping itemized deductions — which already phase out based on income — Clinton will complicate the tax code and bring back the AMT for millions of families,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “The original AMT targeted 155 individuals but grew to target 40 million families. Hillary’s new idea is the old AMT that starts as a $350 billion tax hike and will certainly grow.”
Back in June, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon warned of upcoming “revenue enhancements” – and the campaign has not disappointed. Today’s tax increase follows her July proposal for the most complicated capital gains tax scheme in U.S. history.
Clinton has also called for a tax increase in the form of a “Buffett Rule.”
