Tax The Ultra-rich

Between 1944 and 1981, the top tax rate for the highest-earning Americans averaged 81%, compared with 37% today.  Since Ronald Reagan, there has been an enormous transfer of wealth from the working-class to the extremely wealthy in the U.S. This problem was worsened by tax changes enacted during Donald Trump’s presidency with the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The law permanently reduced the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% (which is one of the lowest of industrial countries) and expanded tax advantages that disproportionately benefited corporations and high-income households while the working-class suffered. Although Democrats later gained the majority, they did not repeal these corporate tax cuts and change the tax credits, ensuring the working-class continued to be exploited.

The top 1% of Americans now own nearly ⅓ of America’s wealth (World Inequality Lab, 2021).  The typical CEO earns more than 281 times that of the average worker (Gould 2025). Wealth inequality in America just hit its widest gap in more than 3 decades (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2026).  The wealth gap is approximately as wide as it was during the Gilded Age and we can address this by taxing billionaires' wealth, multi billion dollar corporations, and the ultrarich that have not paid their fair share. 

In Congress, I will co-sponser the Billionaires Income Tax (H.R.5427) to tax annual capital gains on tradable assets for individuals with $1 billion in assets or $100 million in income. This would bring in over $500 billion dollars in tax revenue to fund our communities in the 6th congressional district.  I support increasing the income level on which FICA employment taxes are applied. This year, the cap is $176,100 and this means millionaires do not pay their share and it must be increased to relieve the burden on working families. I support Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act (H.R.7749) that would bring in at least $3 trillion in revenue over 10 years. It would require  that the top 0.05 percent of American households chip in 2 cents for every dollar of wealth over $50 million. I support eliminating the stepped-up basis that is a key proposal aimed at taxing the ultra wealthy’s unrealized capital gains, which currently go untaxed at death. This will close the loophole that allows billionaires to pass their wealth to the heirs tax-free.

We can restore funding to our communities and unrig our economy by ensuring the ultra-rich and billionaires pay their tax responsibility.