FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Monday, April 18, 2022
Contact:
Jocelyn Foye, Director
[email protected]
NEW REPORT SHOWS BILLIONAIRES NEED TO PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE
Families Pay Their Fair Share, The Womxn Project and Partners Are Urging Congress to Tax Billionaires Who Avoid Paying What They Owe.
[Providence, RI] – The Womxn Project is proud to join organizations around the country who are speaking out on Tax Day, Monday, April 18th to urge Congress to advance a billionaires income tax to close a gaping loophole. A new report on the pandemic wealth growth of billionaires in Rhode Island and around the country details reasons that investment income may never be taxed unless Congress takes action. (See billionaires data here.)
The sizable wealth gains among billionaires across the nation over the first two years of COVID contrast sharply with the economic uncertainty, social isolation, and health dangers of the pandemic and with the current struggles posed by rising inflation. The report describes the implications of taxing the richest individuals for state economies and for key investments to bring down the cost of critical programs that help to meet the needs of families in our state.
President Biden’s recently proposed Billionaire Minimum Income Tax could raise $360 billion over 10 years. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), chairman of the Senate tax-writing committee, has proposed a Billionaires Income Tax that could raise about $560 billion. (See a comparison of the two plans here). Either policy could become part of the reconciliation package Congress is expected to debate at the end of April.
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Jocelyn Foye and partners in this effort are available for interview upon request.
“The nation’s 700 billionaires collectively control more wealth than the bottom half of the American population. They don’t just have way more money than the rest of us though, they have enough power to live by a different set of rules than everyone else so that they don’t have to pay taxes on their wealth.
As a democracy, we deploy our shared resources to build a better country for everyone. It’s time for billionaires to live by the same rules as the rest of us and pay what they owe to help get the country back on track and make sure we can meet the needs of ALL Rhode Islanders. We should all be able to get and stay healthy and live with dignity. We need action at the federal level to advance legislation to ensure that billionaires pay their fair share to support more affordable healthcare, education and housing.” Jocelyn Foye, Director, The Womxn Project
More information:
- State Billionaires Data: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MksOhwmIojtZihAmPcfcYeaGoG3FOFZmiKUza1dIRD4/edit?usp=sharing
- Federal Grants & State Budgets: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uMGQ0_Ow8ssIrktfYIvIQZwB44zOHf82ILpvh5kzWUI/edit?usp=sharing
- National Poll: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AhWvucOLV2qY6izLkZvHpPig6DDmdFaCbmeM-5E65Xw/edit
- Federal Funding: https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/federal-aid-to-state-and-local-governments