U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has issued an updated version of the Billionaires Income Tax, which he said would ensure billionaires pay tax annually.
“There are two tax codes in America,” Wyden said. “The first is mandatory for workers who pay taxes out of every paycheck. The second is voluntary for billionaires who defer paying taxes for years, if not indefinitely. Two tax codes allow billionaires to use largely untaxed income from wealth to build more wealth while working families struggle to balance the mortgage against groceries, and utilities against saving for the future.”
The proposal would apply to taxpayers possessing over $1 billion in assets or more than $100 million in income for three consecutive years.
According to the plan, tradable assets such as stocks would be marked-to-market every year, and billionaires would pay tax on gain and take deductions for losses on tradable assets annually.
“For too long, billionaires have played by a different set of rules that allow them to cheat the system and pay nothing in taxes,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said. “Congress now has the historic opportunity to fix that. The Billionaires Income Tax is an important step to crack down on tax avoidance schemes and loopholes to ensure the richest Americans pay what they owe. It’s time to build a fairer tax system that raises revenue for sorely needed investments in our infrastructure and economy.”