House Democrats push for Biden’s billionaire minimum income tax

As Democrats plow forward with a slimmed-down reconciliation package, House lawmakers are separately pushing another piece of President Joe Biden‘s agenda: taxing the ultra-wealthy. 

Reps. Don Beyer, D-Va., and Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., have introduced the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax Act, calling for a 20% levy on households worth more than $100 million, affecting roughly 0.01% of U.S. families, a congressional fact sheet outlined. 

The 20% tax applies to “total income,” including earnings and so-called unrealized capital gains, or asset growth, with a credit to avoid double taxation and an optional payment plan, according to the bill, which was introduced with 30 co-sponsors.

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“While working families pay taxes on each and every paycheck or pension payment, the ultra-wealthy can make hundreds of millions of tax-free dollars a year,” Cohen said in a statement. 

“Instead of all their billions going to buying superyachts, rocket ships, professional sports teams, and Twitter, it is time that billionaires chip in like everyone else to pay at least a base level of taxes,” he said.

The wealthiest 400 families paid an 8.2% average federal income tax from 2010 to 2018, according to the White House. That compares to 13.03% for the average American.

Broadly, many Americans approve higher taxes on the super-rich, a March 2022 YouGov PLC survey found, with nearly two-thirds supporting a minimum 20% tax on income of more than $100 million.