O’Rourke says he doesn’t support a 70 percent tax rate in post-debate interview

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke said after the first presidential debate that he does not support a 70 percent marginal tax rate for individuals, after not directly answering questions on the topic during the event.

“No, I’m not,” O’Rourke, a former Texas congressman, said after MSNBC’s Chris Matthews asked him in an interview if he is for the rate.

{mosads}”What I am for, and this gets to the spirit of the question, is changing our tax code to make it fairer for everybody,” O’Rourke added.

He did not directly answer when Matthews asked him what he thinks the top rate for individuals should be.

Instead, O’Rourke reiterated comments he made during the debate that he thinks the corporate tax rates should be raised from 21 percent to 28 percent, and that capital gains should be taxed at the same rates as ordinary income. He also said that the U.S. should tax wealth more when it’s transferred from one generation to the next.

“Yes, you might move the marginal rate, but I don’t think you’re going to capture the kind of revenues that you’re looking for, or address the kind of income and wealth inequality that you can,” he said.

The top individual tax rate is currently 37 percent, down from 39.6 percent before the GOP tax law was enacted. For the 2019 tax year, the 37 percent rate applies to individuals with incomes over $510,300.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) earlier this year floated taxing income over $10 million at a rate of 70 percent.