U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a plan to tax the wealthiest Americans and use the revenue to distribute checks to U.S. citizens. The Vermont senator, together with California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, unveiled a proposal on Monday that would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on American billionaires. According to estimates from Sanders' office, there are approximately 938 billionaires in the United States, defined as individuals with wealth exceeding $1 billion.
An economic analysis by two economics professors from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests the bill would raise $4.4 trillion over a decade. Under the proposal by Sanders and Khanna, nearly all revenue generated from the tax would be allocated for one-time direct payments of $3,000 to each U.S. household with an annual income of $150,000 or less. This would mean a family of four would receive $12,000.
Additionally, the lawmakers stated that the funds would be used for several purposes: funding recently expired tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and reversing Medicaid cuts associated with the "Build Back Better Act"; expanding Medicare coverage to include dental, vision, and hearing services for seniors; constructing, renovating, and maintaining over 7 million affordable housing units; ensuring families spend no more than 7% of their income on childcare; establishing a minimum annual salary of $60,000 for public school teachers; and expanding Medicaid home healthcare services to benefit seniors and individuals with disabilities.
Sanders' office highlighted in a press release that the world's wealthiest individual, Elon Musk, would pay $42 billion in taxes in the first year under the proposal. Musk responded to a user sharing the news on platform X, stating, "If the Democrats secure the presidency, Senate, and House in 2029, they will certainly pass this bill. I am not at all surprised by this."
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