The first presidential debate between Trump and Biden will focus on taxes.

• In the first presidential debate of the 2024 general election, Joe Biden and Donald Trump will confront each other.
• The challenge of extending expiring provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 is the biggest tax issue.
• According to the Tax Foundation, approximately 60% of tax filers may experience higher taxes in 2026 if certain TCJA provisions expire.

The first presidential debate of the 2024 general election will take place on Thursday, featuring President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Tax policy is one of the issues that experts predict the presumptive nominees will address, giving voters insight into their positions.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or TCJA, introduced several tax breaks that are set to expire after 2025. These include lower federal income tax brackets, a higher child tax credit, and increased estate and gift tax exemptions, among others.

If TCJA provisions expire, approximately 60% of tax filers may experience higher taxes in 2026, according to the Tax Foundation.

Andrew Lautz, the associate director for the Bipartisan Policy Center's economic policy program, stated that he hopes Biden and Trump will "move beyond political rhetoric" to discuss their plans for addressing the TCJA expirations next year.

The IRS watchdog has stated that the backlog of pandemic-era small business tax credit claim is causing harm to taxpayers. The 'funflation' effect is causing consumers to spend more this summer. A survey has found that 55-year-olds are critically underprepared for retirement.

Despite both campaigns' desire to renew TCJA provisions for most Americans, concerns persist about the financial implications of doing so, particularly given the current federal budget deficit.

The Congressional Budget Office reported in May that if all provisions of the TCJA were fully implemented, it could result in an estimated $4.6 trillion increase to the deficit over the next ten years.

Trump is a 'wild card' on tax policy

The Biden tax agenda will have "very few surprises" after yearly budget proposals to Congress, according to Steve Rosenthal, senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

Rosenthal stated that he repeats the promise every year to pursue what has not been enacted, which is mostly it.

Biden proposes increasing taxes on the wealthy and corporations to finance TCJA extensions for those earning less than $400,000.

In his 2025 fiscal year budget, Biden proposed raising the top individual income tax rate for earnings over $400,000, taxing capital gains at regular income rates for households earning more than $1 million, and imposing a 25% minimum tax on wealth over $100 million.

The future of these proposals is uncertain due to the uncertain control of Congress.

"Rosenthal stated that Trump is the unpredictable factor, and it is challenging to determine the sincerity of his ideas that he casually proposes."

Trump has expressed his intention to renew expiring TCJA provisions and has expressed support for tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods. He has also suggested eliminating taxes on workers' tips and implementing an "all tariff policy" to eliminate the income tax.

The 'economic reality' of tariffs

The debate could also discuss the varying degrees of support for tariffs by Trump and Biden, as stated by Erica York, senior economist and research director at the Tax Foundation's Center for Federal Tax Policy.

""Tariffs increase input costs for American businesses, creating a disadvantage for our firms trying to compete globally," she said."

Under the Biden administration, many of the tariffs imposed on China by Trump remain in effect.