John,

The growing gap between the richest 1% and everyone else is creating enormous wealth inequality and devastating our ability to invest in critical services that benefit working families.

In 2018, the 400 richest people in America had a combined wealth of $2.9 trillion ― as much as the bottom two-thirds of the entire country.[1]

The nation’s severe wealth gap has grown even worse since then partly due to the weakening of the Federal Estate Tax under the Trump-GOP tax scam ― a major gift to Don Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany and Baron (the eventual heirs of Trump’s estate). And let’s not forget wealthy son-in-law Jared’s inheritance.

Right now the estate tax only affects the richest 0.1% ― that’s just 1,800 estates a year.[2] If your estate is NOT worth at least $11 million, you pay NO federal estate tax.

To remedy this scandal, Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) is introducing the For the 99.8% Act, with a companion bill in the U.S. Senate by Bernie Sanders (I-VT). This legislation would raise about $330 billion over ten years from the nation’s richest 0.2% of estates.[3]

The estate tax doesn’t threaten small farms or businesses as Republicans like to claim. In fact, the Gomez-Sanders bill would tax only about 20 small farm and business estates nationwide ― and it even has an extra provision to protect family farms.

Join Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund and CREDO Action and demand Congress pass the For the 99.8% Act to demand that the ultra-rich pay their fair share.

What could we do with an extra $330 billion?

We could make health coverage more affordable by strengthening the Affordable Care Act ($300 billion); we could fully fund the Title I education program to ensure all high-poverty schools receive the staffing and other aid to which they’re entitled ($330 billion); we could fully fund special education ($197 billion) and Head Start ($140 billion); or put a one-third down payment on a $1 trillion infrastructure investment.[3]

The estate tax is an important tool to provide a check on the growing concentration of wealth and create an economy that works for all of us.

Sign the petition demanding Congress pass the For the 99.8% Act to raise the estate tax and make sure the richest Americans start paying their fair share.

If passed, this bill would only tax estates worth more than $3.5 million ― the level in effect in 2009. It would replace the current flat 40% rate with a progressive scale, topping out with estates worth $1 billion or more paying a 77% tax rate (the top estate tax rate from 1941 to 1976).

Trump, and his already wealthy kids, need to start paying more in taxes. Thank you for taking action today to demand a tax system and an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.

Frank Clemente
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund

[1] “Billionaire Bonanza 2018: Inherited Wealth Dynasties of the United States,” Institute for Policy Studies, Oct. 2018
[2] “Gomez Estate Tax Bill Will Affect Very Few Estates — State by State Estimates," Americans for Tax Fairness, July 15, 2019
[3] “66 National Organizations Urge You to Co-sponsor Rep. Gomez’s‘ For the 99.8% Act’: Estate Tax Reform,” Americans for Tax Fairness, Aug. 16, 2019