Businessman and investor Mark Cuban believes that Kamala Harris’ tax plan will beat Donald Trump’s when it comes to businesses that import products.
Harris has outlined a plan for raising the corporation tax from the current federal rate of 21 percent to 28 percent. This would be on long-term capital gains, or profit from the sale of assets that were owned for over a year, for individuals who earn more than $1 million annually.
“We will tax capital gains at a rate that rewards investment in America’s innovators, founders and small businesses,” the Democratic presidential nominee told crowds at a rally in New Hampshire on September 4.
On the other hand, Trump has vowed 100 percent tariffs on countries that “shun” the U.S. Dollar. At a rally in Wisconsin on September 7, the former president told crowds: “You leave the dollar and you’re not doing business with the United States because we are going to put a 100 percent tariff on your goods.” These higher tariffs will help pay for Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy.
Mark Cuban watches the Dallas Mavericks play Chicago Bulls at the United Center on March 11, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. He believes Kamala Harris’ tax plans will be of greater benefit than Donald Trump’s to businesses that import goods.
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Billionaire, minority Dallas Mavericks owner and longtime Trump critic Cuban is not convinced by the former president’s plans.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Cuban wrote: “I’m about to show you that companies that import products are more profitable under Kamala Harris corp tax plan than under the Republican plan with tariffs!”
Using a simplified calculation, Cuban outlined that a hypothetical company with $100 in sales and a 30 percent margin on its products would be left with $18.17 after tariffs and a 21 percent corporation tax under Trump.
Cuban then applied Harris’ proposed no tariffs and 28 percent corporation tax to the same hypothetical situation. This left $21.60 after tax and tariff.
He ended his post by declaring, “Kamala Harris FTW [for the win]” and welcomed followers to share if they thought his math was wrong.
I’m about to show you that companies that import products are more profitable under @KamalaHarris corp tax plan than under the Republican plan with tariffs !
This is a simplification. But the math is the math.
Let’s say you are a company that imports everything it sells and…
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 13, 2024
In a separate X post, Cuban asked: “For all supporters of the Republican Nominee. What specifically will he do to lower grocery and other prices ? I’m curious.”
Newsweek has emailed Mark Cuban and both the Harris and Trump campaigns for comment.
This isn’t the first time that Cuban has taken aim at Trump’s economic policies. Last week, the investor found himself in an online war of words with Trump’s political aide Stephen Miller over a disagreement about economic policy proposals and trade tariffs. The dispute began after Cuban criticized Trump’s plans for tariffs to protect American industries.
Cuban is not the only economics expert to share his thoughts on Trump’s tariff proposals, with several recently warning Newsweekthat increased tariffs would hurt American consumers.
Abigail Cooke, an expert in trade policy at the University at Buffalo in New York, told Newsweek: “There are two things missing from the overly simplified idea that placing tariffs on other countries’ products hurts those foreign producers and helps American producers. First, it raises prices for American consumers. We’ve just gone through a period of relatively elevated inflation rates that have made American consumers really upset. Tariffs contribute to higher prices.
“Second, American producers rely heavily on imported inputs. There are virtually no American-only-made supply chains. So tariffs also hurt many American producers. Tariffs, especially for a relatively wealthy country like the U.S., are a blunt economic tool with many of the costs also borne at home in the U.S.”
Barbara Spencer, a former professor of business at the University of British Columbia, agreed.
Spencer told Newsweek: “A significant proportion of imports into the U.S. are intermediate goods that reduce the costs of U.S. firms allowing them to make profits in competition with foreign rivals both at home and abroad.”
“A tariff, would raise the costs and prices of these firms, hurting both the firms and U.S. consumers. Firms in the U.S. that compete directly with imports can enjoy increased profits from an import tariff, but this would typically involve the firm raising its prices at the expense of U.S. consumers.”
