The 2016 presidential election is still 15 months away. But ahead of Thursday’s first GOP political debate, Wall Street and corporate America will be keeping a close eye on each candidate’s stance on a variety of issues from taxes to immigration. ‘Companies are now being taxed at 40 percent if you include Federal and state,’ said Ian Winer, head of equity trading at Los Angeles, Calif.-based Wedbush Securities. ‘That’s the highest rate in the 34 developed countries around the world.’ But it’s not just domestic taxes U.S. companies are grappling with. Some 28 percent of companies in the broad S&P 500 generate more than half of their revenues from outside the U.S., according to data provided by FactSet. ‘For any earnings they make overseas, they’re taxed by the U.S. and taxed by the local government, so a lot of people, Republicans and investors are going to want to see a lower corporate tax rate and encourage companies to bring some money back onshore,’ Winer added. Another issue gaining momentum this election cycle is immigration. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump raised eyebrows after saying the U.S. needs to build a wall along parts of its southern border and that Mexico is going to pay for it. An anti-immigration stance could hurt growth, economists say. ‘Immigration is a pro-growth policy – there’s no question,’ said Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG, based in New York. ‘Economies grow because of population.’ TheStreet’s Scott Gamm reports from New York.
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