--- description: Hillary Clinton on Thursday will call for broad tax cuts on the middle class, a campaign aide said title: Hillary Clinton to Call for Health Care Tax Credit image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd11425563887f022/6988723e428a9e25e1cd03ad/hillary-clinton-tax-cut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hillary Clinton Calls for Middle Class Tax Cuts by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:15 PM CUTPublished: Nov 20, 2015 8:00 PM CUT  Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton speaks at the premier of the documentary film "Makers: Once and For All" at the School of Visual Arts on November 19, 2015 in New York City. Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton speaks at the premier of the documentary film "Makers: Once and For All" at the School of Visual Arts on November 19, 2015 in New York City.Andrew Burton—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:15 PM CUTPublished: Nov 20, 2015 8:00 PM CUT **Correction appended** Hillary Clinton on Friday called for tax cuts on the middle class, reflecting a widening disagreement between the former Secretary of state and the other Democratic presidential candidates on tax policy. While campaigning in Tennessee, Clinton specifically called for an individual credit on health care costs valued at up to $2,500, and a credit for families of up to $5,000. “You never know when \[it’s\] going to happen you,” Clinton told a crowd of supporters in Memphis. “Somebody gets sick, someone has an accident … you’ve got to be prepared, but too many families don’t have those kinds of resources.” Clinton has already said that she would extend the American Opportunity Tax Credit for families paying for college, and a new tax credit for out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures, a measure Clinton [announced in September](https://www.hillaryclinton.com/p/briefing/factsheets/2015/09/23/clinton-plan-to-lower-out-of-pocket-health-care-costs/ "undefined"). She plans to announce more tax credits in the coming months. Clinton’s proposed tax credit reflect a broadening rift with the other candidates in the Democratic field. Her tax credit proposals go beyond a pledge she has made not to raise taxes on families earning $250,000 per year, a policy that Obama promised to uphold during his 2008 and has maintained throughout his presidency. Clinton has criticized former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for not agreeing to uphold Obama’s pledge. “I was actually the only one on that debate stage who will commit to raising your wages and not your taxes,” Clinton said after the second Democratic debate. Sanders and O’Malley, meanwhile, have argued that a progressive agenda requires some higher taxes. For example, a paid family leave bill in the Senate proposed by a Clinton ally, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand would raise a small tax on middle income earners. “Secretary Clinton is right: Governor O’Malley does support paid family leave, and he supports paying for it,” said O’Malley deputy campaign manager Lis Smith. “She is trying to have it both ways on this issue — making promises she can’t pay for, and playing the age-old Washington game of promising a chicken in every pot.” Clinton has said her costliest plans, like her $350-billion proposal for debt-free tuition at public universities, would be paid for by limiting tax deductions for the wealthy. Economists say the pledge not to raise middle class taxes could limit some of Clinton’s budget options as president, but she could still pay for expensive programs by raising taxes on the wealthy. “There’s still room for a strong, progressive agenda that relies on reducing tax breaks to the wealthier Americans,” said Harry Stein, director of fiscal policy at the Center for American Progress, a think tank with ties to both Obama and Clinton. “There’s a lot of room to raise revenue at the top.” The Democratic frontrunner has said she would discuss additional tax breaks on Sunday in Iowa and a range of other cuts in the months to come. Read Next: [What to Know About Hillary Clinton’s Economic Proposals](http://time.com/3955359/hillary-clinton-economy-2016-presidential-election/ "undefined") ### See Hillary Clinton's Evolution in 20 Photos  Teenager: Hillary Rodham poses in her 1965 senior class portrait from Park Ridge East High School in Illinois. AP  Law School Student: Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham pose for a snapshot at Yale Law School in 1972\. They married in 1975. Clinton Presidential Library  Mother: Clinton poses with her husband, Bill, then in his first term as governor, with their week-old daughter, Chelsea, on March 5, 1980. Donald R. Broyles—AP  Campaign Companion: Clinton celebrates her husband's victory in a Democratic runoff in Little Rock, Ark. on June 8, 1982. AP  Arkansas First Lady: Clinton is seen in her inaugural ball gown in 1985. A. Lynn—AP  Political Wife: Clinton celebrates her husband's inauguration in Little Rock on Sept. 20, 1991. Danny Johnston—AP  Dignitary: Clinton receives an honorary law degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., on May 30, 1992. Chris Ocken—AP  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a meeting during the presidential campaign for her husband in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 4, 1992. Bill Sikes—AP  First Lady: Clinton appears at the MTV Inauguration Ball at the Washington Convention Center on Jan. 20, 1993. Shayna Brennan—AP  Second-Term First Lady: Clinton attends the Inaugural Ball after her husband was sworn in to a second term on Jan. 20, 1997. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  New York Senator: Clinton speaks at a press conference with female Democratic senators in Washington on June 21, 2006. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Committee Member: Clinton listens to the testimony of Lt. General David Petraeus to the Senate Armed Forces Committee at a hearing on Capital Hill in Washington on Jan. 23, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Candidate: Clinton holds a a campaign event in Portsmouth, N.H., while running for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 2, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Jan. 2, 2008. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Secretary of State: Clinton kisses President Obama at a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 24, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton joins Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Dec. 3, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Jan. 23, 2013. J. Scott Applewhite—AP  Author: Clinton attends a signing memoir, "Hard Choices," at a Costco in Arlington, Va., on June 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Grandmother: Clinton holds her granddaughter Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City on Sept. 27, 2014. Office of President Clinton/AP  Once and Future Candidate: Clinton speaks at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, on Sept. 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis _Correction: This story originally misstated the date Hillary Clinton made the call for middle class tax cuts. It was Friday, Nov. 20_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4122587/hillary-clinton-health-care-tax-credit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4122587/hillary-clinton-health-care-tax-credit/"},"headline":"Hillary Clinton Calls for Middle Class Tax Cuts","datePublished":"2015-11-20T20:00:04.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T23:15:39.000Z","description":"Hillary Clinton on Thursday will call for broad tax cuts on the middle class, a campaign aide said","url":"https://time.com/4122587/hillary-clinton-health-care-tax-credit/","keywords":["Hillary Clinton","2016 Election topic","Bernie Sanders","Martin O'malley"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd11425563887f022/6988723e428a9e25e1cd03ad/hillary-clinton-tax-cut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd11425563887f022/6988723e428a9e25e1cd03ad/hillary-clinton-tax-cut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton speaks at the premier of the documentary film \"Makers: Once and For All\" at the School of Visual Arts on November 19, 2015 in New York City.","caption":"Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton speaks at the premier of the documentary film \"Makers: Once and For All\" at the School of Visual Arts on November 19, 2015 in New York City.","creditText":"Andrew Burton—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4122587/hillary-clinton-health-care-tax-credit/","name":"Hillary Clinton Calls for Middle Class Tax Cuts"}}]}] ```