A group of US billionaires has published an open letter asking the 2020 presidential candidates to support a wealth tax on individuals with assets of $50m and above.
The letter is described as ‘non-partisan’ and a response to ‘historic levels of wealth among America’s richest’, reflecting the results of several recent polls indicating that a ‘moderate tax on the wealthiest Americans’ enjoys the support of a majority in the US.
The main proposal is for a 2% tax on assets of $50m and above, with a further 1% on assets over $1bn. The letter claims such a tax would generate nearly $3 trillion in revenue over ten years.
Six key reasons are given for why America has a ‘moral, ethical and economic responsibility’ to tax wealth more. The letter states that a wealth tax would:
help tackle the climate crisis;
promote economic growth and success;
provide resources for improvement of public health outcomes and extend life expectancies;
promote fairness and social mobility;
strengthen freedom and democracy by contributing to political, social, and economic stability; and
fulfil a patriotic duty.
The signatories are: Louise J. Bowditch, Robert S. Bowditch, Abigail Disney, Sean Eldridge, Stephen R. English, Agnes Gund, Catherine Gund, Nick Hanauer, Arnold Hiatt, Chris Hughes, Molly Munger, Regan Pritzker, Justin Rosenstein, Stephen M. Silberstein, Ian T. Simmons, Liesel Pritzker Simmons, Alexander Soros, George Soros, and one anonymous signatory. See bit.ly/2Yd1lqd.
A group of US billionaires has published an open letter asking the 2020 presidential candidates to support a wealth tax on individuals with assets of $50m and above.
The letter is described as ‘non-partisan’ and a response to ‘historic levels of wealth among America’s richest’, reflecting the results of several recent polls indicating that a ‘moderate tax on the wealthiest Americans’ enjoys the support of a majority in the US.
The main proposal is for a 2% tax on assets of $50m and above, with a further 1% on assets over $1bn. The letter claims such a tax would generate nearly $3 trillion in revenue over ten years.
Six key reasons are given for why America has a ‘moral, ethical and economic responsibility’ to tax wealth more. The letter states that a wealth tax would:
help tackle the climate crisis;
promote economic growth and success;
provide resources for improvement of public health outcomes and extend life expectancies;
promote fairness and social mobility;
strengthen freedom and democracy by contributing to political, social, and economic stability; and
fulfil a patriotic duty.
The signatories are: Louise J. Bowditch, Robert S. Bowditch, Abigail Disney, Sean Eldridge, Stephen R. English, Agnes Gund, Catherine Gund, Nick Hanauer, Arnold Hiatt, Chris Hughes, Molly Munger, Regan Pritzker, Justin Rosenstein, Stephen M. Silberstein, Ian T. Simmons, Liesel Pritzker Simmons, Alexander Soros, George Soros, and one anonymous signatory. See bit.ly/2Yd1lqd.
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