On Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Brendan Boyle (D-Penn.), rolled out a new version of the ultrawealth tax plan she proposed during her 2020 presidential campaign.
This seemed inevitable, given that billionaires’ wealth has soared during the pandemic, and the Democrats now control Congress. The bill will also inevitably face fierce opposition, particularly from Republicans. But the way we levy taxes on individuals and families clearly isn’t working out so well for most Americans.
We primarily tax income and consumer transactions. Those sales taxes are regressive—hitting the poor much harder than the rich. And because long-term investment gains are taxed at a much lower rate than wages, and only about half of Americans own any stocks, our progressive state and federal income taxes have been insufficient to curb the nation’s staggering—and growing—disparities in family wealth.
Besides inheritance taxes, the only wealth tax currently in place is the property tax,
— source motherjones.com | Michael Mechanic | Mar 1, 2021