Sen. Elizabeth Warren is planning to propose a wealth tax on the nation’s richest, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
According to Emmanuel Saez, one of two economists who advised Warren’s alleged proposal, the Massachusetts Democrat wants to set a 2% tax on Americans with assets over $50 million. For those with assets above $1 billion, the tax would rise to 3%.
The plan could raise $2.75 trillion in a decade, despite only affecting less than 0.1% of American households, Saez told the Post.
The plan also aims to fight tax evasion by significantly increasing Internal Revenue Service funding, requiring a certain number of people subject to the wealth tax are audited each year, and implementing a one-time tax penalty for those under the wealth tax who try to renounce their U.S. citizenship, says the Post.
Warren, who announced herself as a contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential bid last month, is reportedly going to make the proposal public on Friday.
Warren’s proposal is likely to be met with skepticism from conservatives who view higher taxes on the rich as a threat to innovation, but an increasing number of Democrats are beginning to embrace the idea of a wealth tax to fight the country’s growing economic inequality.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has proposed an income tax up to 70% for the country’s richest, a plan she says would help fund the ambitious Green New Deal.
“People will have to start paying their fair share in taxes,” she said on 60 Minutes earlier this month. “As you climb up this ladder you should be contributing more.”
