In her bid for president, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently proposed a wealth tax on the super rich (dubbed the Ultra-Millionaire Tax) to combat income inequality. Her plan calls for a two percent tax on those with a net worth over $50 million, and a three percent tax on those with assets topping $1 billion.
What’s unique about this tax on the very rich is that it’s not just on income, but rather all assets: Stock, real estate holdings, paintings, trust fund, what have you.
According to the New Yorker, no more than 80,000 households in the U.S. possess wealth topping $50 million, yet Warren’s office claims it “is estimated by leading economists to raise $2.75 trillion in tax revenue over a ten-year period.”
But Warren is not the only Democrat to propose a tax increase on the uber rich. Both Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York have proposed their own versions.
If you want to compare the plans for yourself, Vox has built a calculator that “lets you design your own wealth tax — based on a data set estimating the wealth of Americans in 2016 from the People’s Policy Project.”
Once you’ve selected your tax rates, income threshold and the avoidance rate (because you know rich people will find a way not to pay it), the calculator will inform you how much revenue is generated as a result, and what programs that revenue could pay for.
Take it for a spin here.