Taxing The Richest! US President Joe Biden Proposes New ¡®Minimum¡¯ 20% Tax On Billionaires
Yesterday, US president Joe Biden proposed a new 'minimum' 20% tax on America¡¯s richest households while unveiling his govt¡¯s latest budget.
Yesterday, US President Joe Biden proposed a new tax on America¡¯s richest households while unveiling his government¡¯s latest budget.
According to a factsheet released by the White House, the Biden administration wants to impose a 20% minimum tax on households worth more than $100m. The proposal would raise more than $360bn over the next decade and ¡°would make sure that the wealthiest Americans no longer pay a tax rate lower than teachers and firefighters¡±.
The plan, called the ¡°billionaire minimum income tax¡±, is the administration¡¯s most aggressive move to date to tax the very wealthiest Americans, as per a report by TheGuardian.
The billionaire tax is part of Biden¡¯s $5.8tn budget proposal for 2023, which also sets aside billions for the police and military, as well as investments in affordable housing, plans to tackle the US¡¯s supply chain issues and gun violence.
AP photo
Also Read: Surging Food Prices In USA Are Pushing More Americans To Depend On Food Banks
US Prez¡¯s Statement
In a statement, US Prez Biden said ¡°Budgets are statements of values, and the budget I am releasing today sends a clear message that we value fiscal responsibility, safety and security at home and around the world, and the investments needed to continue our equitable growth and build a better America.¡±
The White House¡¯s factsheet notes further stated ¡°In 2021 alone, America¡¯s more than 700 billionaires saw their wealth increase by $1tn, yet in a typical year, billionaires like these would pay just 8% of their total realized and unrealized income in taxes. A firefighter or teacher can pay double that tax rate.¡±
Under the new proposed plan, households worth more than $100m would have to give detailed accounts to the Internal Revenue Service of how their assets had fared over the year. Those who pay less than 20% on those gains would then be subject to an additional tax that would take their rate up to the set minimum rate of 20%.
Moreover, the Biden administration has calculated that this tax would affect only the top 0.01% of American households, those worth over $100m, and that more than half the revenue would come from households worth more than $1bn.
For more of such interesting financial news, keep reading Worth.
