When Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposed a tax on the ultra-rich during her 2020 campaign, analysts said it would raise around $2.75 trillion. The richest Americans have grown so much richer during the pandemic that the estimate is now more than $3 trillion. Warren and two House Democrats, Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, introduced the "Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act" Monday, with co-sponsors including Sen. Bernie Sanders, CNN reports. The lawmakers said it would raise trillions over the next decade, "without raising taxes on the 99.95% of American households that have net worth below $50 million." The proposal would place a 2% annual tax on the net worth of households and trusts between $50 million and $1 billion, rising to 3% when net worth exceeds $1 billion.
"As Congress develops additional plans to help our economy, the wealth tax should be at the top of the list to help pay for these plans because of the huge amounts of revenue it would generate," Warren said. "This is money that should be invested in child care and early education, K-12, infrastructure, all of which are priorities of President Biden and Democrats in Congress." The tax would affect an estimated 100,000 families, though critics say it could be tough to enforce and might face constitutional challenges. Polls show that around 60% of voters, including a majority of Republicans, support a tax on the ultra-wealthy, the New York Times reports. "A wealth tax is popular among voters on both sides for good reason: because they understand the system is rigged to benefit the wealthy and large corporations," Warren said. (More billionaires stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
