WASHINGTON — Following passage of the American Rescue Plan, Health Care for America Now Executive Director Margarida Jorge outlined 5 taxes on the wealthy and corporations that Congress can pass to make more permanent investments in Healthcare Over Wealthcare:
“For millions of Americans, passage of the American Rescue Plan is welcome relief from the past year of health and economic turmoil caused by COVID-19. But for too many people, that struggle pre-dates this pandemic and will continue after it unless lawmakers build on the historic package so that everyone in America finally has affordable health care, no matter what.
While the middle class shrinks and working people everywhere are bending over backwards to make ends meet, the rich in this country are only getting richer. At $4.1 trillion, the total wealth of America’s 661 billionaires is nearly double the $2.4 trillion in total wealth held by the bottom half of the population–about 165 million Americans. In some states, the total increase in billionaire wealth the past 10 months alone could pay for shortfalls in education, healthcare, and jobs lost since the start of the pandemic.
To ‘build back better’, Congress must pass bold policies like those proposed by President Biden and Democratic leaders that would finally make the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of taxes so that we can invest in healthcare and an economy that works for everyone.”
5 policies Congress can pass to fund Healthcare Over Wealthcare:
- Elizabeth Warren’s Ultra-Millionaires Tax Act would tax the net worth of America’s wealthiest people — those with assets above $50 million — and would raise an estimated $3 trillion in revenue.
- President Biden’s capital gains proposal would require those making over $1 million pay the same 39.6% tax rate on capital gains income derived from the sale of stock, businesses, and real estate, as workers’ pay on wages and salaries. This would raise an estimated $373 billion.
- President Biden proposes raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, which would raise more than $700 billion.
- President Biden proposes lowering the threshold above which estate taxes are paid from $11.6 million today to $3.5 million. This would affect an estimated 3 out of every 1,000 estates and raise $218 billion.
- President Biden proposes reducing the tax breaks that companies currently receive when they generate profits offshore rather than here in the United States. This would raise an estimated $22 billion.
