Friends, I’m introducing new legislation to lower the cost of child care by changing the threshold at which extremely wealthy families pay taxes on their estates at death.
It’s called the LEGACY Act — Leveraging Estate Gains for America’s Children and Youth. If you agree that the wealthiest people in the country should pay their fair share in taxes, add your name to support my legislation today.
In their recent abomination of a budget, Republicans inserted a $30 million estate tax exemption — meaning families passing down any amount less than $30 million don’t need to pay any taxes on that wealth.
My bill would lower that threshold number from $30 million down to $14 million for joint filers — and would designate 15% of the revenue gained to offset the astronomically high costs of child care in this country. The ultimate goal is for child care to cost no more than 7% of a family’s income.
To put it in the simplest possible terms, this legislation would tax trust fund kids in order to create a new kind of trust fund that benefits ALL American kids.
Right now, child care costs in this country are at an all-time high. In the majority of states, child care for two kids costs more than the average mortgage payment! And at the same time, the median pay for child care workers is less than $33,000 per year — with way too many workers living below the poverty line.
This is absolutely a place where the government should step in — and one of the most impactful things we could do to relieve major financial stress for families around the country is lower those costs — and pay those workers a living wage.
You can read more about my bill in this piece from Mother Jones by clicking here.
So, real talk: This bill would cost me money. You might already be aware that my grandpa founded a Fortune 500 company — so all I had to do to earn my wealth was to be born. My family and I are incredibly privileged and incredibly lucky, and I see it as my responsibility to make sure every kid in America can grow up with the same opportunities that I had. So yes, I’m proposing a tax increase for me and my family — and for families like ours.
Why? Because it’s just the right thing to do. The wealthiest people in this country shouldn’t be handed loopholes and tax breaks at the expense of families who are struggling to make ends meet.
If you’re on board, I hope you’ll let me know by adding your name to support the LEGACY Act today.
