Senator Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday defended her latest property tax proposal, telling CNBC that most Americans don’t mind being rich enough to pay it.
The Massachusetts Democrat spoke up in a Squawk Box interview the day after a proposal for an annual tax of 2%, or 2 cents, on every dollar of human wealth worth over $ 50 million was introduced. Individuals with net worth more than $ 1 billion would pay an annual tax of 3%, or 3 cents, on every dollar above that threshold.
Warren advocated a similar wealth tax idea during her unsuccessful campaign for the 2020 Democratic President nomination.
Other progressives, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, co-sponsored Warren’s plan. During his unsuccessful presidential campaign, Sanders also advocated a wealth tax.
“It’s now set up so that we won’t be collecting taxes on assets less than $ 50,000. So that’s not intrusive. It’s not about getting into people’s homes and evaluating their sub-zeros.” or find out what their 4-year-old cars are worth, “Warren said on CNBC.
“But they say if you have a fortune over $ 50 million, you pay for it. And if your net worth is less than $ 50 million, you don’t. Good for you, no matter how,” she added. “I think most people would rather be rich and pay 2 cents. That’s not very fancy. It’s really a tax on wealth over $ 50 million.”
The idea of a wealth tax in the US has been criticized several times, including by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said it had “very difficult implementation problems”.
Warren said the coronavirus crisis had exacerbated inequality in the US and demonstrated that a more wealth tax was needed to generate more federal revenue. The proposal envisages investing in early childhood education and infrastructure programs.
The senator said her plan would raise $ 3.75 trillion over the next 10 years.
“We understand the direction we’ve been going. This pandemic has spawned more billionaires. The people at the top aren’t barely hanging by their fingernails,” Warren said.
