Billionaires Income Tax Will End Unfair Loopholes and Provide Robust Funding for Essential Programs

WASHINGTON — Today, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Ron Wyden, introduced the Billionaires Income Tax Act, legislation that would require billionaires to start paying taxes on the gains in their wealth each year. Health Care for America Now (HCAN) Executive Director Margarida Jorge issued the following statement, urging leaders in Congress to support the legislation and make the tax system fairer for all:

 

“Every year, millions of Americans pay taxes on hard-earned paychecks. But in our two-tiered tax system, super-wealthy Americans like millionaires and billionaires can dodge federal income taxes because of loopholes that treat income generated by stocks and financial assets differently than wages and work income. The Billionaires Income Tax would tax wealth like work and finally require the richest households to pay taxes just like the rest of us.

 

“Passing the Billionaires Income Tax is a key step in making our tax system more fair. The collective wealth of America’s 741 billionaires grew 78 percent under the Trump laws and has now reached a total of $5.2 trillion – the highest amount ever recorded according to an analysis by Americans for Tax Fairness. The super-rich get to hold on to all that wealth, often paying lower taxes than middle-class workers like firefighters and nurses thanks to the skewed tax rules while average Americans pay their fair share and struggle with rising costs on everyone from housing to prescription drugs.

 

“The Billionaires Income Tax would raise nearly $560 billion over 10 years to be reinvested in economic growth and opportunity for all. That means billions more for healthcare, housing, education, safety and other services while at the same time updating the tax system to make it more fair across incomes. No wonder this legislation is popular with voters across the political spectrum.”