Julián Castro proposes ‘People First’ economic plan

Democratic Party presidential nomination candidate Julián Castro has unveiled his “People First” Economic Plan for Working Families, a sweeping platform to support working families and ensure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.

The plan, which was released via Medium on Thursday, includes a number of bold new tax proposals that would ensure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share, and would expand relief for hardworking families working to make ends meet.

The plan would, among other proposals, create a new Inherited Wealth Tax that would replace the estate and gift taxes with a federal tax on inherited incomes of more than $2 million. The plan would create a Wealth Inequality Tax for the top-tenth of one percent of earners — treating capital income the same as labor income in a  mark-to-market system. Finally, the plan would repeal the  failed Trump tax bill which has overwhelmingly benefited corporations and the wealthiest few, while leaving working families further behind.

Additionally, the plan creates a ‘Working Families First’ Credit by dramatically expanding the Child Tax Credit to $3,000 per child, per family—more than doubling the current allowance, and increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit, including the ability to claim dependents. The plan also calls for universal child care, universal pre-Kindergarten for three- and four-year-olds, and details a number of provisions to ensure pay equity for women in the workplace.

“At a time when wealth inequality is through the roof and wages are flat, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are hell bent on lining the pockets of the wealthiest few,” said Secretary Julián Castro. “Families working hard to make ends meet shouldn’t pay more in taxes than the wealthiest earners. My new plan would put working families first: providing critical relief to families who count on a paycheck, and ensuring the wealthiest  Americans pay their fair share.”