Tax the ultra-rich more, George Soros and 17 other American billionaires urge
By Tue, Jun 25, 2019
Taxing the richest of the rich will benefit all Americans, a group of the wealthiest Americans says in an open letter to the 2020 presidential candidates.
In a Medium blog post published Sunday, the group of 18 ultra-rich individuals — including George Soros, Facebook Inc. FB, +0.76% co-founder Chris Hughes, heiress Abigail Disney and Molly Munger (the daughter of Berkshire Hathaway’s BRK.B, +0.31% Charlie) — argue that taxing the richest 1/10 of the richest 1% of Americans is not only fair, it’s vital.
“This revenue could substantially fund the cost of smart investments in our future, like clean energy innovation to mitigate climate change, universal child care, student loan debt relief, infrastructure modernization, tax credits for low-income families, public health solutions, and other vital needs,” the group wrote.
While not endorsing any candidate and addressing both Democrats and Republicans, the group singled out Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s wealth-tax proposal, which would tax 2 cents on the dollar for assets over $50 million, and 1 cent on the dollar for assets above $1 billion for the 75,000 wealthiest families in the country, raising an estimated $3 trillion over 10 years.
“That a moderate tax on a minuscule number of Americans could raise so much revenue simply reflects historic levels of wealth among America’s richest,” they said. “The top 1/10 of 1% of households now have almost as much wealth as all Americans in the bottom 90%. Those of us signing this letter enjoy uncommon fortunes, but each of us wants to live in an America that solves the biggest challenges of our common future.”
Furthermore, it’ll be good for America, the group said. “We believe instituting a wealth tax would lead to political, social, and economic stability, strengthening and safeguarding America’s democratic freedoms. . . . We’ll be fine — taking on this tax is the least we can do to strengthen the country we love.”
It’s not the first time America’s richest have said they should pay more of their fair share. In 2017, a group of 400 billionaires, including Soros and George Rockefeller, issued a letter opposing President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul, saying it would exacerbate inequality.
Earlier this year, Abigail Disney — who is a member of Patriotic Millionaires, a group of high-net-worth Americans that advocates higher taxes for the rich and equal political representation — sharply criticized the pay of Walt Disney Co. DIS, -0.72% Chief Executive Bog Iger, calling his $65.6 million pay package “insane.”
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