• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly

2

After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history

3

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave

1

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly

2

After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history

3

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
CommentaryPolitics

Project 2025: Will the rich ever pay tax again?

By
Bob Lord
Bob Lord
and
Morris Pearl
Morris Pearl
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Bob Lord
Bob Lord
and
Morris Pearl
Morris Pearl
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 6, 2024, 4:05 PM ET
Bob Lord, an Institute for Policy Studies associate fellow, currently serves as senior advisor on tax policy at the Patriotic Millionaires. Morris Pearl, a former managing director of BlackRock, is the chair of the Patriotic Millionaires.
The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 booth at the National Conservative Conference in Washington D.C. on Jul. 8.
The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 booth at the National Conservative Conference in Washington D.C. on Jul. 8. Dominic Gwinn - Middle East Images - Middle East Images - AFP
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

There’s pretty much nothing to like about Project 2025’s dystopian vision for America. Whether it’s the elimination of abortion rights or the elimination of the Department of Education, it’s all horrifying. Here’s just one of the many appalling declarations in Project 2025: “Our Constitution grants each of us the liberty to do not what we want, but what we ought.” 

Given the radical overall thrust of Project 2025, it’s easy to lose sight of its more mundane contents, like its tax agenda. But the tax proposals of Project 2025, if ever enacted, would be no less dangerous to our happiness and well-being than the restrictions on individual freedom. They would practically guarantee the concentration of the country’s wealth in the hands of a group of billionaires and trillionaires who would be insulated from meaningful federal taxation. The resulting concentration of political power would destroy whatever is left of our democracy, clearing the way for the imposition of Project 2025’s extreme social agenda. 

The most often discussed tax proposals of Project 2025—reducing the corporate tax rate to 18% or less, the individual income tax rate to 30%, the tax rate on dividends and capital gains to 15%, and the maximum estate tax rate to 20%—all obviously move us in that direction.

But a Project 2025 proposal that is receiving much less public attention, Universal Savings Accounts (USA), could do far more damage.  

On the surface, Project 2025’s USA proposal seems like just one more misguided retirement savings incentive that favors the rich. It would allow any taxpayer to contribute up to $15,000 of after-tax earnings to a USA. 

Functionally, USAs would be similar to Roth IRAs. A contribution to a USA, like a contribution to a Roth IRA, would not by itself reduce a person’s tax liability. And, as is the case with a Roth IRA, all the earnings of a USA would escape tax. 

But USAs would not function merely as larger Roth IRAs. Their tax avoidance potential would be infinitely greater. They would have the potential to exempt multi-billion dollar gains, even trillion-dollar gains, from taxation.

Investigative journalists have shown that some of America’s wealthiest billionaires have gigantic Roth IRAs. But these big names grew their Roth IRA fortunes, at least technically, by savvy investing. And that’s where the tax avoidance potential of USAs will be far greater. The Project 2025 white paper calls for USAs to be “highly flexible and for taxpayers to be able to invest their USAs as they see fit, including, for example, in a closely held business.” Current rules applicable to Roth IRAs make investing in a closely held business virtually impossible, except as a purely passive investor. 

That’s a huge difference. If USA holders are able to invest in their own closely held businesses, as Project 2025 contemplates, the potential income tax avoidance is unlimited. After all, although $15,000 is not a lot of money, it’s enough, and certainly, several years of $15,000 deposits into a USA are enough to start a business in one’s garage. This means that the growth of a garage-based business could be shielded entirely from federal income tax.

The list of businesses that started in the founder’s garage include, to name a few, Disney, Mattel, Microsoft, Amazon, Dell, and Google. Subway started as a single small shop and grew to its current size of approximately 37,000 locations. Had USAs been available to the founders of those now enormous companies, several of which now have market capitalizations in the trillions of dollars, the bulk of their lifetime gains would be entirely exempt from federal income tax.

Here’s how it would work: When the next Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos conceives an idea for a business, they will create a corporation by simply submitting documents to a state government office. The corporation’s value initially will be zero. Then, our future billionaire (or trillionaire) will cause the corporation to issue stock to their tax-free USA in exchange for the modest seed capital needed to start the business. The corporation then can borrow money, issue more stock to outside investors, and hire employees. Eventually, our future mogul will be sitting on a stupefying fortune, all held in a USA, and all entirely exempt from income tax.

The bottom line here is that Project 2025 would have the founders of future mega businesses that start small—and pretty much every business starts small—paying little or no tax on what could be a trillion dollars or more of income over the course of a lifetime. The resulting concentration of the country’s wealth will dwarf even the Gilded Age-like level of wealth concentration that exists today. 

More must-read commentary published by Fortune:

  • An economic catastrophe is lurking beneath Russia’s GDP growth as Putin ‘throws everything into the fireplace’
  • The ‘sustainability recession’ will end soon—and not by choice
  • ‘Godmother of AI’ says California’s well-intended AI bill will harm the U.S. ecosystem
  • The most underrated leadership skill, according to Jake Sullivan

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

About the Authors
By Bob Lord
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Morris Pearl
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Commentary

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Commentary

sb
Commentarynational debt
The national debt is over 100% of GDP and most of Congress is ignoring wishes to rein it in. It’s time to amend the Constitution
By Steve H. Hanke and David M. WalkerJuly 15, 2026
4 hours ago
Is your AI really working? Why productivity isn’t the same as progress
Future of WorkBrainstorm Tech
Is your AI really working? Why productivity isn’t the same as progress
By Jamie GarverickJuly 15, 2026
6 hours ago
r
CommentaryFDA
Trust in the FDA is collapsing. It’s time to get really transparent about our food and our drugs
By Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Megan Ranney, Sten Vermund, Patricia Greenstein and Steven TianJuly 14, 2026
24 hours ago
mm
Commentaryregulation
Exclusive: Delaware proposes testing the AIC, a new legal entity for agents in a regulatory sandbox
By John Nay and Charuni Patibanda-SanchezJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
jobs
CommentaryLabor
Black women’s unemployment rate fell. That’s not the good news you think it is
By Katica RoyJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
b
CommentaryWorld Cup
Columbia Business School professors: What the Balogun red card can teach us about AI and judgment
By Oded Netzer, Christopher Frank and Paul MagnoneJuly 13, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
Newsletters
MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
By Sydney LakeJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history
North America
After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
Law
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
By Barbara Ortutay, Alexandra Olson and The Associated PressJuly 15, 2026
6 hours ago
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
Economy
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
By Eleanor PringleJuly 15, 2026
8 hours ago
Current price of gold as of July 14, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of July 14, 2026
By Danny BakstJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 14, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.