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BumRushDaShow

(168,293 posts)
Tue Mar 3, 2026, 03:39 AM 6 hrs ago

Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna propose bill to impose wealth tax on billionaires

Source: The Guardian

Mon 2 Mar 2026 14.27 EST
Last modified on Mon 2 Mar 2026 16.07 EST


Senator Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna, a representative, on Monday introduced legislation that would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on America’s billionaires.

The proposal, titled the make billionaires pay their fair share act, would apply to individuals in the US with a net worth of $1bn or more, of which Sanders’s office estimates there are 938 people who meet that threshold.

In a news release on Monday, Sanders, the independent senator of Vermont, and Khanna, the Democratic representative of California who has recently gained national attention for his role in pushing the government to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, said that an analysis by economists at the University of California, Berkeley, estimates that “the legislation would raise $4.4tn over the next decade”.

The lawmakers said that the revenue from the bill would be used to “improve the lives of the American people”. “In its first year, the bill would provide a $3,000 direct payment to every man, woman and child in a household making $150,000 or less – $12,000 for a family of four – and use the estimated $4.4tn in revenue raised over the next decade to address the most pressing crises facing working families,” per the press release.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/02/bernie-sanders-ro-khanna-billionaires-wealth-tax-bill



Link to Sen. Sanders PRESS RELEASE - NEWS: Sanders and Khanna Introduce Legislation to Tax Billionaire Wealth and Invest in Working Families

Link to draft BILL (PDF) - https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/MakeBillionairesPayTheirFairShareAct.pdf

Link to draft BILL SUMMARY (PDF) - https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Wealth-Tax-Bill-Summary.pdf

Link to ECONOMIC ANALYSIS (PDF) - https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/saez-zucman-sanders2026wealthtax.pdf
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Buddyzbuddy

(2,417 posts)
1. That's a good start, ultimately taxing 50% of EVERY billion.
Tue Mar 3, 2026, 04:46 AM
5 hrs ago

And first, secure the solvency of Social Security.
Then medical care, then .....

cstanleytech

(28,380 posts)
2. Honestly the target should be the corporations more than the wealthy directly.
Tue Mar 3, 2026, 05:11 AM
4 hrs ago

Their wealth comes from the corporations and higher taxes on them might be the better way to go.

thesquanderer

(12,952 posts)
5. I never understand this. Most of these guys' wealth is in owning huge amounts of stock in the companies they founded.
Tue Mar 3, 2026, 09:17 AM
48 min ago

So Zuckerberg, Bezos, etc. probably don't even HAVE 5% of their wealth in cash, or anything remotely near that.

So this is what I don't understand about these plans. For Zuckerberg/Bezos to pay the 5% tax, they'd probably have to sell 5% of their stock in Meta/Amazon. IOW, for the government to collect the proposed $11 billion in taxes from them, these guys would probably have to sell $11 billion of their companies' stock. Even assuming there are enough buyers with enough cash to buy that enormous amount of stock that would suddenly be offered to purchase, having all of that stock suddenly "for sale" will drive down the price of the stock, meaning...

... all other owners of the stock will be taking a loss in THEIR net value as the price of the stock goes down, as the market is flooded with additional shares for sale, and

... Zuckerberg/Bazos would probably have to sell MORE than 5% of that stock (perhaps a lot more) to raise enough revenue to pay the tax, because the more shares they sell, they less they can get for them.

And they'd have to do it again every year!

Who would even want to own a stock that will be flooded with a tremendous amount of dilution every year?

Maybe I misunderstand this, but this whole concept has never made sense to me. Am I missing something? Can someone explain to me how this is supposed to work?

Scalded Nun

(1,654 posts)
6. And while they are at it...
Tue Mar 3, 2026, 09:37 AM
28 min ago

-Eliminate the SS cap
-Eliminate tax on SS received
-Minimum tax based upon gross income above a defined amount
-Tax on all stock/commodities transactions
-Eliminate tax deductions for contributions to any/all political activities, politicians, PACs, etc.
-A bill prohibiting SS funds from being used for anything other than SS benefits
-Money raised to be directly paid towards the national debt, universal healthcare, and to repay the SS fund for all monies stolen from
it since Reagan
-Require full disclosure of all investment income/profits for elected officials


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