Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) are among a group of Congress members that introduced legislation to apply a wealth tax to fortunes above $50 million.
The lawmakers said the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act would generate $6.2 trillion in revenue over the next decade, more than double the amount when it was first introduced five years ago. It would be enough money to pay for investments like universal child care, free community college, Medicare expansion, and more — without raising taxes on 99.85 percent of American households.
“A secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than the CEO. The current tax code is rigged against working people and the middle class. Our proposal finally changes this and makes billionaires pay their fair share,” Boyle said.
According to an analysis from economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, the richest 0.1 percent of Americans hold nearly as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent of families combined. Instead of tackling this inequality, the lawmakers say the Trump administration has slashed health care coverage for millions of families to deliver over $1 trillion in tax cuts to the top 1 percent.
The Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act would ask the wealthiest 260,000 households, or the top 0.15 percent, to pay a 2 percent annual tax on the net worth of households and trusts valued at over $50 million and an additional 1 percent annual surtax on the net worth of households and trusts above $1 billion. The bill also includes robust anti-evasion and avoidance measures, including $100 million in new funding for the IRS and a 40 percent “exit tax” on the wealth of ultra-millionaires and billionaires who renounce their citizenship to avoid the tax.
“As millions of families are struggling under the weight of inflation, tariffs, and rising gas prices, the richest billionaires continue to see their net worth grow. We live in the richest country in the world, but that wealth is incredibly concentrated in a tiny group of people. It’s time to tax the rich and level the playing field to ensure that every American has a chance to succeed,” Jayapal said. “The Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act is a major step toward making sure the wealthy finally pay their fair share.”
The bill was cosponsored by 39 House members and 10 Senators, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
“While multi-millionaires and billionaires are getting richer and richer, families are getting squeezed by a rigged economy. My bill is about basic fairness and making the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share. It’s time for the government to stop listening to the richest of the rich and start working for working people,” Warren said.
The bill is endorsed by nearly 40 unions, advocacy groups, and national organizations, including: Service Employees International Union, American Federation of Teachers, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, American Federation of Government Employees, UNITE HERE, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Communications Workers of America, National Education Association, United Steelworkers, Americans for Tax Fairness, Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform, Main Street Alliance, Patriotic Millionaires, P Street, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, Groundwork Collaborative, Oxfam America, People’s Action Institute, the Sunrise Movement, MomsRising, and the Center for Law and Social Policy, among others.
“It’s time the super-rich start paying their fair share. By asking the ultra-wealthy to contribute just a small percentage of their extreme fortunes, we can generate trillions in revenue to invest directly in the needs of everyday Americans—lowering costs, expanding opportunity, and strengthening the middle class. The Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act will help ensure that prosperity is shared by all who create it, not concentrated in the hands of a few,” Jody Calemine, AFL-CIO director of Advocacy, said.