Senator Bernie Sanders (R-Vermont), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) today introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act, legislation that would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on America’s 938 billionaires – whose collective wealth now stands at $8.2 trillion. In its first year, the bill would provide a direct payment of $3,000 to every man, woman and child in a household with income of $150,000 or less — $12,000 for a family of four — and use the estimated $4.4 trillion in revenue raised over the next decade to address the most pressing crises facing working families.
“At a time of unprecedented income and wealth inequality, this legislation demands that America’s billionaire class finally pay their fair share of taxes so we can create an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1%.” Sanders said. “We can no longer tolerate a corrupt tax code that enables billionaires to pay a lower tax rate than the average worker. In a democratic society, we can no longer tolerate 60% of our people living paycheck to paycheck — struggling to pay for housing, food, and health care — while 938 billionaires have become $1.5 trillion richer. We cannot continue the trend where, over the past 50 years, $79 trillion of wealth has been redistributed in our country from the bottom 90% To the upper class. The top 1% is enough, and billionaires cannot have it all. It is time to impose a wealth tax on billionaires and use these revenues to address some of the major crises facing working families, children, the elderly, the sick, and the most vulnerable.
“We have a deep economic divide in this country. On the one hand, places like Silicon Valley generate enormous wealth. On the other hand, families struggle to cover the cost of health care, housing, and basic needs. We can tax billionaires a modest amount to make sure everyone has a fair shot while maintaining our innovation engine. That’s why I’m proud to join Senator Bernie Sanders to lead the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act.” Khanna said.
The Making Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on just 938 billionaires in America who are now worth $8.2 trillion. Anyone with a net worth of less than $1 billion would not pay an extra cent in taxes under this bill. According to analysis According to economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, the legislation would raise $4.4 trillion over the next decade.
The bill would use revenue from the wealth tax to:
- Providing a direct payment of $3,000 to every man, woman and child in a household with income of $150,000 or less – $12,000 for a family of four
- Reversing $1.1 trillion in cuts to the Medicaid and Affordable Care Act in Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which is estimated to cause more than 50,000 unnecessary deaths
- Expanding Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing for millions of seniors
- Build, rehabilitate and preserve more than seven million affordable homes to eliminate the affordable housing gap and end homelessness
- Ensure that no family pays more than 7% of its income for childcare
- Setting a minimum annual salary of $60,000 for every teacher in public schools in America
- Expanding Medicaid home health care for seniors and people with disabilities
Under the bill, Elon Musk — who is worth $833 billion and is now wealthier than 53% of American households combined — would owe $42 billion in taxes, leaving him with roughly $792 billion. Mark Zuckerberg, who is worth $220 billion, will owe $11 billion. Jeff Bezos, who is worth $218 billion, will owe about $11 billion.
Read the text of the bill here.
Read summary here.
Read economic analysis here.
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