SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) on Friday introduced legislation that would impose a progressive tax on the estates of the richest Americans. (Photo: Michael Fleshman/Flickr/cc)
House Dems Take Aim at 'Trust Fund Babies' With Estate Tax Designed to Combat Obscene Wealth Inequality
"The ever-widening gap between the ultra-rich and the rest of us has reached alarming proportions and demands a strong legislative response."
Oct 25, 2019
California Congressman Jimmy Gomez on Friday introduced legislation in the Democrat-controlled U.S. House that aims to address "our country's rapidly increasing wealth inequality by strengthening the estate tax and ensuring the wealthiest among us pay their fair share."
"Trust fund babies who have done nothing to earn their wealth besides being born into the right family have no right to pay a lower tax rate on their millions than hard-working Americans do on the income that they work for."
--Charlie Simmons, Patriotic Millionaires
The For the 99.8% Act would impose a progressive tax on the estates of the richest Americans. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, introduced the companion bill in the Republican-controlled Senate in January.
Under the bill, "the families of all 588 billionaires in America would owe up to $2.2 trillion in estate taxes, amounting to revenue that can be used to address critical needs for working families and the most vulnerable among us," according to Gomez's office.
"The ever-widening gap between the ultra-rich and the rest of us has reached alarming proportions and demands a strong legislative response," Gomez, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement. "No longer can we allow this structural power imbalance--one where the billionaire-class hoards the very wealth working families helped to create--define our nation's values and priorities."
Gomez also thanked Sanders "for joining me in our shared mission to level the economic playing field for the working-class and transform our economy into one that works for every American."
"No longer can we allow this structural power imbalance... define our nation's values and priorities."
--Rep. Jimmy Gomez
"We are facing levels of inequality not seen since the Gilded Age of the robber barons, where the top one-tenth of one percent owns about as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent," Sanders said Friday. "The richest 400 billionaires pay lower taxes than everyone else. In my view, this obscene inequality in wealth and political power is not compatible with a democratic society."
The White House hopeful added that "I am proud that Rep. Gomez is leading three dozen members of the House in introducing the For The 99.8% Act to tax today's dynasty trusts and curb their power, while raising trillions of dollars for the essential programs we need as a country."
The House bill's 37 original co-sponsors include Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) and Mark Pocan (Wis.) as well as the four freshmen congresswomen collectively known as "the Squad," Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.).
The bill is also backed by 80 national organizations that sent a letter of support to Congress Friday. The letter highlighted various provisions of the bill and pointed out that "the public overwhelmingly favors raising taxes on the wealthy--typically by a margin of 2 to 1."
"In my view, this obscene inequality in wealth and political power is not compatible with a democratic society."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
Americans for Tax Fairness executive director Frank Clemente, whose group signed on to the letter, called the legislation "a critical step" toward creating "an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few."
"It will raise well over $300 billion," Clemente noted, "that can be used to help people afford healthcare, improve our schools, and rebuild crumbling infrastructure across the country."
Patriotic Millionaires also signed the support letter. Retired tech executive Charlie Simmons, a member of the group, said in a statement that "as a millionaire who will end up paying the estate tax, I say that we should expand it."
"Tax my estate," said Simmons. "Trust fund babies who have done nothing to earn their wealth besides being born into the right family have no right to pay a lower tax rate on their millions than hard-working Americans do on the income that they work for."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
California Congressman Jimmy Gomez on Friday introduced legislation in the Democrat-controlled U.S. House that aims to address "our country's rapidly increasing wealth inequality by strengthening the estate tax and ensuring the wealthiest among us pay their fair share."
"Trust fund babies who have done nothing to earn their wealth besides being born into the right family have no right to pay a lower tax rate on their millions than hard-working Americans do on the income that they work for."
--Charlie Simmons, Patriotic Millionaires
The For the 99.8% Act would impose a progressive tax on the estates of the richest Americans. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, introduced the companion bill in the Republican-controlled Senate in January.
Under the bill, "the families of all 588 billionaires in America would owe up to $2.2 trillion in estate taxes, amounting to revenue that can be used to address critical needs for working families and the most vulnerable among us," according to Gomez's office.
"The ever-widening gap between the ultra-rich and the rest of us has reached alarming proportions and demands a strong legislative response," Gomez, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement. "No longer can we allow this structural power imbalance--one where the billionaire-class hoards the very wealth working families helped to create--define our nation's values and priorities."
Gomez also thanked Sanders "for joining me in our shared mission to level the economic playing field for the working-class and transform our economy into one that works for every American."
"No longer can we allow this structural power imbalance... define our nation's values and priorities."
--Rep. Jimmy Gomez
"We are facing levels of inequality not seen since the Gilded Age of the robber barons, where the top one-tenth of one percent owns about as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent," Sanders said Friday. "The richest 400 billionaires pay lower taxes than everyone else. In my view, this obscene inequality in wealth and political power is not compatible with a democratic society."
The White House hopeful added that "I am proud that Rep. Gomez is leading three dozen members of the House in introducing the For The 99.8% Act to tax today's dynasty trusts and curb their power, while raising trillions of dollars for the essential programs we need as a country."
The House bill's 37 original co-sponsors include Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) and Mark Pocan (Wis.) as well as the four freshmen congresswomen collectively known as "the Squad," Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.).
The bill is also backed by 80 national organizations that sent a letter of support to Congress Friday. The letter highlighted various provisions of the bill and pointed out that "the public overwhelmingly favors raising taxes on the wealthy--typically by a margin of 2 to 1."
"In my view, this obscene inequality in wealth and political power is not compatible with a democratic society."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
Americans for Tax Fairness executive director Frank Clemente, whose group signed on to the letter, called the legislation "a critical step" toward creating "an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few."
"It will raise well over $300 billion," Clemente noted, "that can be used to help people afford healthcare, improve our schools, and rebuild crumbling infrastructure across the country."
Patriotic Millionaires also signed the support letter. Retired tech executive Charlie Simmons, a member of the group, said in a statement that "as a millionaire who will end up paying the estate tax, I say that we should expand it."
"Tax my estate," said Simmons. "Trust fund babies who have done nothing to earn their wealth besides being born into the right family have no right to pay a lower tax rate on their millions than hard-working Americans do on the income that they work for."
California Congressman Jimmy Gomez on Friday introduced legislation in the Democrat-controlled U.S. House that aims to address "our country's rapidly increasing wealth inequality by strengthening the estate tax and ensuring the wealthiest among us pay their fair share."
"Trust fund babies who have done nothing to earn their wealth besides being born into the right family have no right to pay a lower tax rate on their millions than hard-working Americans do on the income that they work for."
--Charlie Simmons, Patriotic Millionaires
The For the 99.8% Act would impose a progressive tax on the estates of the richest Americans. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, introduced the companion bill in the Republican-controlled Senate in January.
Under the bill, "the families of all 588 billionaires in America would owe up to $2.2 trillion in estate taxes, amounting to revenue that can be used to address critical needs for working families and the most vulnerable among us," according to Gomez's office.
"The ever-widening gap between the ultra-rich and the rest of us has reached alarming proportions and demands a strong legislative response," Gomez, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement. "No longer can we allow this structural power imbalance--one where the billionaire-class hoards the very wealth working families helped to create--define our nation's values and priorities."
Gomez also thanked Sanders "for joining me in our shared mission to level the economic playing field for the working-class and transform our economy into one that works for every American."
"No longer can we allow this structural power imbalance... define our nation's values and priorities."
--Rep. Jimmy Gomez
"We are facing levels of inequality not seen since the Gilded Age of the robber barons, where the top one-tenth of one percent owns about as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent," Sanders said Friday. "The richest 400 billionaires pay lower taxes than everyone else. In my view, this obscene inequality in wealth and political power is not compatible with a democratic society."
The White House hopeful added that "I am proud that Rep. Gomez is leading three dozen members of the House in introducing the For The 99.8% Act to tax today's dynasty trusts and curb their power, while raising trillions of dollars for the essential programs we need as a country."
The House bill's 37 original co-sponsors include Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) and Mark Pocan (Wis.) as well as the four freshmen congresswomen collectively known as "the Squad," Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.).
The bill is also backed by 80 national organizations that sent a letter of support to Congress Friday. The letter highlighted various provisions of the bill and pointed out that "the public overwhelmingly favors raising taxes on the wealthy--typically by a margin of 2 to 1."
"In my view, this obscene inequality in wealth and political power is not compatible with a democratic society."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
Americans for Tax Fairness executive director Frank Clemente, whose group signed on to the letter, called the legislation "a critical step" toward creating "an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few."
"It will raise well over $300 billion," Clemente noted, "that can be used to help people afford healthcare, improve our schools, and rebuild crumbling infrastructure across the country."
Patriotic Millionaires also signed the support letter. Retired tech executive Charlie Simmons, a member of the group, said in a statement that "as a millionaire who will end up paying the estate tax, I say that we should expand it."
"Tax my estate," said Simmons. "Trust fund babies who have done nothing to earn their wealth besides being born into the right family have no right to pay a lower tax rate on their millions than hard-working Americans do on the income that they work for."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.