Trump vs. Clinton: Who's Got the Better Economic Plan?

Voters are taking a close look at which presidential candidate has the best plan to grow the economy and create jobs.

Donald Trump's strategy is to cut taxes and encourage businesses to invest more and hire more in America.

His Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, believes taxing the rich and more government spending will grow the economy.

So who has the better plan?

According to Trump, he's the best candidate to grow the economy and create jobs.

"I can tell you this and I can say it with certainty: I will be the greatest jobs producing president that God ever created!" he told supporters.

Trump's proposals include:

• Slashing corporate tax rates from 40 percent to 15 percent.
• Capital gains and dividend tax rates would go from 24 percent to 20 percent.
• Standard deductions would increase from $6,300 to $25,000 for single filers and from $12,600 to  $50,000 for joint filers.

"There's no question that a lower tax burden is better for the economy, better for job creation," said Dan Mitchell, a senior fellow with the CATO Institute.

Meanwhile, middle-income households would pay $2,700 less in taxes and the number of those paying no income tax at all will rise from 77 million to 110 million.

Also under Trump's economic plan, the marriage penalty, estate tax, alternative minimum tax and Affordable Care Act taxes are gone.
 
But some analysts, like Mitchell, warn that the GOP candidate's tax plan could dramatically raise the country's debt burden.

"If Trump has a giant, multi-trillion dollar tax cut and doesn't do anything to rein in the rapid growth of government spending, then there's no question that he'll probably give us a much, much bigger deficit," Mitchell warned.

But Trump does plan to prevent a big deficit by cutting government spending and helping the economy grow.

Clinton, meanwhile, is blasting Trump's ideas.

"He has released what he calls his tax plan and its very clearly his plan!" she exclaimed, calling it a huge bonanza for wealthy Americans.

"Donald Trump's tax plan was written by a billionaire for billionaires," she charged.

Clinton says unlike Trump's proposal, she wants the rich to pay their "fair share" in taxes. Her plan would include the following:

• Those making over $1 million will pay a minimum of 30 percent of their income in taxes.
• People making over $5 million will get slapped with an additional 4 percent surcharge.
• Itemized deduction benefits will be capped at 28 percent.
• And she will limit the value of tax-deferred retirement accounts.

Clinton claims that while the majority of Americans will see their taxes remain unchanged, her proposal will reduce the federal deficit by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years.

"Hillary Clinton says she's going to have the big tax increase, which on paper, might seem to mean a smaller deficit," Mitchell said.

"But then she also has all these programs for increased dependency on government, a bigger footprint for Washington and our economy," he noted. "So in all likelihood, her plan would increase the deficit as well."

Even though both candidates are still finalizing their plans, what's clear is that both Republicans and Democrats say the economy is the number one issue in this year's presidential election.

In the end, each candidate hopes their plan will attract plenty of votes.