Biden to propose 'Billionaire Minimum Income Tax' of 20 percent

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The Biden administration plans to announce a "Billionaire Minimum Income Tax" on Monday as part of its 2023 budget proposal, The Washington Post reports, citing five people with knowledge of the matter and an administration document obtained by the newspaper.

Fox News appears to have obtained the same document, and reports that the new tax would apply to all U.S. households with a net worth of more than $100 million.

The Post explains that many billionaires "pay far lower tax rates than average Americans because the federal government does not tax the increase in the value of their stock holdings until those assets are sold" and that billionaires can then "borrow against their accumulated gains without triggering taxes on capital gains."

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The document says that, under the proposed policy, the ultra-wealthy will be taxed 20 percent of their "full income," including "unrealized income." If a household pays an amount equivalent to or higher than 20 percent of full income in already-existing taxes, no additional taxes will be levied. If the household's tax bill falls short of that number, "they will owe a top-up payment to meet the 20 percent minimum," per the document.

Married couples filing jointly for the 2022 tax year will be taxed 37 percent of any income over $647,850, according to Forbes.

The document predicts the new tax will raise $360 billion in revenue over the next 10 years.

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Grayson Quay

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-GazetteModern AgeThe American ConservativeThe Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.