IT'S TAX DAY! Billionaires like Jeff Bezos exploit the already rigged tax system to pay a lower tax rate than the rest of us. But there is a solution to make our tax system—and our country—more fair and equitable: a wealth tax.

IT'S TAX DAY. Sign the petition to finally make the ultrawealthy pay what they owe!

Dear MoveOn member, 

Republicans and Donald Trump passed a tax scheme in 2017 to benefit the ultrawealthy and corporations—and now everyday Americans are paying the price, literally. While 78% of Americans struggle living paycheck to paycheck, the 400 richest people added another $500 BILLION to their $4.5 TRILLION net worth last year alone.1,2 All while shifting the burden onto the rest of us and underfunding education, health, jobs, infrastructure, and other critical social safety nets.

We're done letting billionaires and the ultrawealthy cut corners and evade paying what they owe. It's time we fix our broken tax system and demand that the wealthy pay up, like the rest of us.

Billionaires like Jeff Bezos exploit the already rigged tax system to pay a lower tax rate than the rest of us. In fact, Bezos—one of the richest men in the world—used tax loopholes to avoid paying federal income taxes altogether not just once but twice! And Elon Musk and Michael Bloomberg have also evaded paying taxes in the past.3 It's clear: The system is set up to benefit the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us. But there is a solution to unrig it and make our tax system—and our country—more fair and equitable: a wealth tax.

The Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Pramila Jayapal, and Representative Brendan Boyle, is estimated to bring in $3 TRILLION in revenue over 10 years, without raising taxes on households with a net worth below $50 million.4 And it does it just by requiring the wealthiest 100,000 households in America—the top 0.05%—to pay their fair share.

That's $3 trillion that could be used to finally get what we deserve out of our tax system. Health care for all. Fully funded public education. Free public transportation. Federal paid family and medical leave. That's $3 trillion invested in working families, the backbone of our country and our economy. 

The majority of Americans support a wealth tax.5 The Biden administration has pushed a billionaire tax. And now we have a viable path to tax the ultrawealthy introduced in both the House and Senate.6 

The movement to finally make the wealthy pay what they owe is growing, but we have to keep up the pressure. Add your name to the petition to demand Congress pass the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act NOW!

Billionaire wealth has unprecedentedly DOUBLED over the past six years, with the ultrarich hoarding a staggering $8.5 TRILLION in untaxed wealth.7,8 It's time to tax the ultrawealthy and reinvest in everyday families!

Unsurprisingly, the majority of Americans are dissatisfied with how they are being taxed and what their tax dollars are being used for.9,10 And that's because our tax system is outdated and backward. The richest people in our country are given tax breaks (did you know there’s a deduction for yachts?) or simply not taxed on their wealth.11 And if that isn't egregious enough, some millionaires and billionaires are simply refusing to pay the taxes they do owe, evading more than $150 billion in taxes annually.12 Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress misappropriate our hard-earned tax dollars, cutting and voting down public services that would actually benefit everyday Americans.13

It's hard to generate wealth when most people in America are just working to make ends meet. Congress needs to take action NOW and make the wealthiest people in our country pay what they owe, like the rest of us. Click here to add your name to the petition.

Our tax system is rigged in favor of the rich partly because it is centered around income, not wealth. Income is what you earn every paycheck. Wealth, however, is the total of your assets. Think of your house (or, for the ultrawealthy, multiple multimillion-dollar houses), cars, stocks, and bonds. Assets that not only have value, but grow in value. Wealth is being passed down from generation to generation, and people are living off of it—tax free. The hoarding of wealth is driving inequality in our country, benefiting the wealthy few at the expense of the rest of us. 

And the wealth gap is worsening existing racial and economic inequalities in the United States. Wealth inequality is inextricably linked to racial inequality. In order to amass wealth, you need to not only acquire it but have the time for it to grow. And because systemic racism impacts everything from employment to home ownership to financial literacy, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian communities are decades, even centuries, behind. In fact, the Forbes 400 richest Americans own more wealth than all Black households combined.14 The ultra-millionaire tax is about closing the racial wealth gap and leveling the playing field once and for all.

We can make our tax system actually work for everyday families and invest back into our communities so that everyone can thrive. But that means rebalancing the scales and making the system more fair and more equitable. And that means making the wealthiest people in our country pay up.  

Make sure this tax season is the last one when the ultrarich avoid paying what they owe. Click here to sign the petition and urge Congress to pass the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act NOW, and then share with three friends.

Thanks for all you do. 

–Aliya, Nakia, Rahna, Madeleine, and the rest of the team

Sources: 

1. "Living Paycheck To Paycheck Statistics 2024," Forbes Advisor, April 2, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/188949?t=10&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

2. "Updates: Billionaire Wealth, U.S. Job Losses and Pandemic Profiteers," Inequality.org, March 18, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/161701?t=12&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

3. "Summary of ProPublica's Report on Billionaire Tax Dodgers," Americans for Tax Fairness, accessed April 9, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189263?t=14&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

4. "Warren, Jayapal, Boyle Reintroduce Ultra-Millionaire Tax on Fortunes Over $50 million," Elizabeth Warren, March 19, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189265?t=16&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

5. "Average American Remains OK With Higher Taxes on Rich," Gallup, August 12, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/189373?t=18&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

6. "Elizabeth Warren and others on progressive Left reintroduce 'ultra-millionaires' tax," Washington Examiner, March 19, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189374?t=20&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

7. "The Ultra-Wealthy’s $8.5 Trillion of Untaxed Income," Americans for Tax Fairness, January 3, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189375?t=22&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

8. "As Tax Day Approaches, New Study Finds U.S. Billionaires Now Worth A Record $5.8 Trillion," Americans for Tax Fairness, April 8, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189376?t=24&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

9. "Americans' Satisfaction With Federal Taxes on Low Side," Gallup, January 22, 2015
https://act.moveon.org/go/189266?t=26&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

10. "Fact Check Team: Poll reveals dissatisfaction and mistrust in government over tax spending," The National Desk, February 1, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189267?t=28&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

11. "The rich get government handouts just like the poor. Here are 10 of them," The Washington Post, April 9, 2015
https://act.moveon.org/go/189268?t=30&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

12. "Tax evasion by millionaires and billionaires tops $150 billion a year, says IRS chief," CNBC, February 23, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189269?t=32&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

13. "Do You Know Where Your Federal Tax Dollars Go?" Bipartisan Policy Center, January 31, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189270?t=34&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

14. "Dreams Deferred," Institute for Policy Studies, January 15, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/81495?t=36&akid=380320%2E40999114%2ETwlPIK

 

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