Bernie comes again with property tax invoice after billionaires

If a new inheritance tax bill, enacted last Thursday by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), went into effect, the Walton family, who own Walmart, would be taxed up to $ 85.8 billion more, according to Sanders their $ 221.5 billion worth.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ family would pay up to $ 44.4 billion more in taxes on his $ 178 billion net worth.

Tesla’s Elon Musk family would pay up to $ 40.4 billion more in taxes on his $ 162 billion wealth.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s family would pay up to $ 25.3 billion more in taxes on his $ 101.7 billion net worth.

We have long known that Bernie believes billionaires shouldn’t exist, and his latest bill, the “For the 99.5% Act,” again targets directly the prosperity of the “0.5%”.

“Incredibly, the United States today has more income and wealth inequalities than almost any major country on earth,” said Sen. Sanders. “This inequality has only been exacerbated by the economic crisis sparked by COVID and a tax system that allows billionaires to pay less taxes than working people across the country.”

According to a summary of the new Sanders bill, the top tenth of one percent in America today owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent. The 50 richest people in this country are more wealthy than the bottom half of Americans – 165 million people.

“Morally, economically, and politically, our nation is not going to thrive when so few have so much and so many have so little,” said Sanders. “We need a tax system that requires the billionaire class to pay their fair share of taxes and that reduces the obscene inequality of wealth in America.”

Last Thursday, Sanders passed not one but two laws that he says will “end our rigged tax laws and make sure the richest people and biggest companies pay their fair share” – the “For the 99.5% Act “and the” Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention “act.”

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Jack Reed (D-RI) are joining Sen. Sanders as the original co-founders of the For the 99.5% Act in the Senate, which, according to Sanders Camp, has received support from over 50 national organizations.

“America’s estate and gift tax system is the most lacunae part of our tax law,” said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness. “With the help of an army of highly paid advisors, America’s ultra-wealthy pays taxes on a fraction of their wealth or eschews taxes entirely. The billions in taxes they avoid each year cost the rest of us better schools, affordable health care, and other essential services. The For the 99.5% Act bridges the gaping loopholes in law and will control the terrible concentration of wealth in the hands of billionaires. “

In the House of Representatives, Inheritance Tax Legislation will be introduced by Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), while Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) will introduce the offshore corporation tax evasion bill.

The For the 99.5% Act is a progressive estate tax on the wealth of the top 0.5% of Americans, while the Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention Act aims to remove tax breaks and loopholes that encourage companies to move jobs and profits overseas relocate.

Inheritance tax increase also in the sights of Biden?

The bills were introduced a week after the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act was reintroduced and before President Biden’s Wednesday event in Pittsburgh, where the President will officially unveil the next phase of his economic agenda: an extensive collection of infrastructure proposals that to be paid in large part through tax increases for the rich.

The “For the 99.5% Act” would create a new progressive estate tax rate structure for the top 0.5% of Americans who inherit wealth over $ 3.5 million. This bill also includes the termination of tax breaks for dynasty trusts; Closing other gaps in estate and gift taxes; and protection for family farmers by reducing the value of their farmland for estate tax purposes by up to $ 3 million.

For 2021, the amount of federal personal inheritance tax exemption is $ 11.7 million, which is any amount that is subject to federal inheritance tax unless otherwise excluded. A couple has a combined exemption of $ 23.4 million for 2021. The estate tax rate on the amount exceeding US $ 11.7 million for 2021 is a progressive tax of between 18% and 39% for the first US $ 1 million and a flat rate of 40% for amounts above.

In a statement announcing the For the 99.5% Act, Sanders says 99.5% of Americans would not owe a penny more in taxes under that act, but the families of all 657 billionaires in America – the combined net worth over $ 4.2 trillion – would owe up to $ 2.7 trillion in estate tax.

Specifically, this legislation would provide for a 45% tax rate on land valued at $ 3.5 million and a tax rate of 65% on the value of an estate valued at over $ 1 billion.

Camp Sanders added that from 1941 to 1976, the highest estate tax rate for properties valued at more than $ 50 million was 77%. According to the Joint Tax Committee, this new bill would raise $ 430 billion by 2031.

Republican bill seeks to end inheritance tax

Across the aisle, Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced laws to permanently repeal estate tax in early March. Thune’s bill, the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2021, would “finally end this purely punitive tax that has the potential to hit family farms, ranches and businesses as a result of the owner’s death”.

Thune also spearheaded efforts by the Senate to repeal inheritance tax while Congress examined the Tax Reduction and Employment Act (TCJA) in 2017. Although the final version of the TCJA did not abolish inheritance tax, the law doubled the exclusion of individual inheritance and gift tax to $ 10 million by 2025 ($ 11.7 million in 2021).

The 2021 Death Tax Abolition Act faces extremely long opportunities with Democratic control of Capitol Hill and the White House.

SEE ALSO:

• Billionaires beware: Sanders, Warren Wealth Taxes aim to thin your ranks

• Biden is considering big tax hikes for wealthy businesses