'Tax the Rich. It's Just That Simple': US Campaign Aims to Make Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share

A coalition of over a dozen progressive advocacy groups launched a nationwide "Tax the Rich" campaign Wednesday with the goal of building a grassroots movement to unrig the tax code and make wealthy Americans pay their fair share.

"Tax March is building a robust network of organizers across the country to show policymakers that the American people want the wealthiest individuals to pay their fair share in taxes."
--Tax MarchThe new project, led by progressive advocacy group Tax March, will consist of on-the-ground organizing in crucial battleground states like Wisconsin and Iowa.

Tax March also plans to spend seven figures on digital, print, television, and radio ads "to educate the public about taxing the rich."

"Taxing the rich isn't just good policy, it's good politics--and this campaign will prove that," Maura Quint, executive director of progressive advocacy group Tax March, said in a statement. "Raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy is wildly popular with a majority of both Democratic and Republican voters."

To underscore this point, Tax March released new polling data (pdf) Wednesday showing that 75 percent of likely 2020 voters--including 60 percent of Republicans--support raising taxes on the wealthy.

"This important poll provides a detailed look at how voters feel about taxes and the overwhelming message is that they want the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share," Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, said in a statement.

"If we are ever going to address our important national priorities, including healthcare, infrastructure, education, and climate change, we must raise trillions of new tax dollars from the well off and implement a tax system that works for everyone," Clemente added. "That starts by repealing the Trump-GOP tax cuts for the rich and corporations."

Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, argued that combating inequality with higher taxes on the rich would have both economic and political benefits.

"Concentration of wealth equals concentration of power," said Levin. "That means taxing the rich not only builds a more just economy, it builds a stronger democracy for all of us."

The campaign is scheduled to begin with a conference in Washington, D.C. on April 13. Two days later, the progressive coalition will hold a nationwide day of action.

"The 400 richest Americans own more wealth than 150 million low- and middle-income adults," reads the campaign's website. "That's why Tax March is building a robust network of partners and organizers across the country to show policymakers that the American people want the highest income earners and the wealthiest individuals to pay their fair share in taxes."

The launch of the Tax the Rich campaign comes just a week before lawmakers, activists, and academics are set to convene in Washington, D.C., for a "Tax the Rich" conference hosted by Patriotic Millionaires, a coalition of wealthy Americans who support higher taxes on rich individuals like themselves.

The conference, scheduled for next Wednesday, will be attended by Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairs Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Sarah Anderson of the Institute for Policy Studies, and dozens of other lawmakers and experts.

"For years the rich have taken advantage of an unfair tax code while working and middle-class Americans have been left behind," Patriotic Millionaires tweeted Wednesday. "The rich must pay their fair share."