‘Time for a Wealth Tax in America’: Warren Unveils ‘Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act’

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) believes it is time to implement a wealth tax to help pay for a series of proposed policies.

“It is time for a wealth tax in America,” Warren proclaimed on Monday as she introduced the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, which would implement a 2% tax on fortunes over $50 million.

She explained, “Your first $50 million is free and clear. But your 50 millionth and first dollar, you gotta pay two cents, and two cents on every dollar after that until you hit a billion. When you hit a billion, you gotta pay a few cents more.”

Watch the video below:

Warren and Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) have argued that the tax can be used to help pay for President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

As The New York Times reports, the bill would “apply a 2 percent tax to individual net worth — including the value of stocks, houses, boats and anything else a person owns, after subtracting out any debts — above $50 million. It would add an additional 1 percent surcharge for net worth above $1 billion.”

Warren’s bill is similar to a wealth tax she proposed while running for president.

University of California, Berkeley, economists Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez