Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) announced a plan Monday to eliminate federal income taxes on the first $75,000 of income for most households, a change aimed at boosting working- and middle-class pay while shifting more of the tax burden to wealthy individuals and large corporations.
The plan from the New Jersey Democrat, who is widely seen as a 2028 presidential candidate, would more than double the standard deduction. Under the proposal, married couples would not pay federal income tax on their first $75,000 in earnings, while individuals would receive a $37,500 deduction and heads of household would receive a $56,250 deduction.
Currently, the standard deduction is $32,200 for couples filing jointly and $16,100 for single filers.
Booker called his idea “a game changer for working people” in a written statement.
“It’s a simple idea: American households shouldn’t pay taxes on their first $75,000 of income,” Booker said in an interview with NBC News. “That would meaningfully raise the take-home pay of the average American family.”
Booker ran for president in 2020 and is expected to run again in 2028. He told the news outlet that Democrats need to show voters “big ideas” in preparation for the next election cycle.
“I have not closed the door on ’28, but I’m really focused on now that the Democratic Party needs to not be defined by what it’s against, simply, but start talking about the big things it stands for,” he said.
Booker, head of Senate Democrats’ strategic communications committee, is one of the party’s most prominent voices pushing back on President Donald Trump’s second administration. He has repeatedly turned to high-profile, headline-grabbing, unconventional tactics to amplify his message, including a record-setting 25-plus-hour speech on the Senate floor last April.
Weeks later, he drew national attention again by staging a 12-hour, livestreamed sit-in outside the U.S. Capitol to protest Republican plans to cut Medicaid.
Booker plans to introduce his new legislation, the “Keep Your Pay Act,” in the Senate on Tuesday.
The proposal would encourage more taxpayers to use the standard deduction rather than itemize, fundamentally reshaping how many Americans interact with the tax code. Booker’s office estimates the change would dramatically reduce tax burdens for middle-income households, with the median family seeing its federal income tax bill fall by roughly 85%.
Beyond the increase in the deduction, the plan would expand several tax credits designed to boost household income. It includes a larger child tax credit, raising the benefit to $3,600 per child ages 6 to 17 and $4,320 for children under 6, along with a one-time $2,400 “baby bonus” for families in the year a child is born.
The legislation would also broaden the earned income tax credit, extending eligibility to younger workers ages 19 to 24 and older workers over 65 who are currently excluded from the full benefit, while tripling the credit’s value for workers without children.
Booker says the proposal would be fully offset by tax increases on corporations and the wealthy, including a higher corporate tax rate, tighter rules on executive compensation deductions, and increased taxes on stock buybacks.
“New Jerseyans are working harder than ever but still struggling with rising costs and an economy that feels stacked against them,” Booker said. “Making the first $75,000 of income tax-free would be a game changer for working families.”
CORY BOOKER JOINS POSSIBLE 2028 DEMOCRATIC CONTENDERS WITH BOOK TOUR OF HIS OWN
He added that his “tax cut would immediately put more money in your pocket every month to deal with the high price of everyday expenses, an unexpected emergency, or to plan for the future.”
The senator also launched an online calculator on Monday, allowing Americans to estimate how much they would save under the plan.