Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday unveiled an aggressive wealth tax proposal that targets billionaires and would apply to households worth over $32 million, about 180,000 households in total. The tax, which would reduce the wealth of the average billionaire by half, is an escalation of Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax, which would only apply to households worth over $50 million, about 70,000 households. Sanders’ proposal would impose a one percent tax on net worth over $32 million and would rise up to eight percent for those with a net worth of over $10 billion. Sanders’ plan would raise $4.35 trillion over a decade, almost double the $2.6 trillion that Warren’s plan is projected to raise.
Sanders says the money generated by the tax would fund his other ambitious proposals, including the housing plan he released last week, a forthcoming universal child care plan, and Medicare for All. “I don’t think that billionaires should exist,” the Vermont senator said. “This proposal does not eliminate billionaires, but it eliminates a lot of the wealth that billionaires have, and I think that’s exactly what we should be doing.”
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