Tax policy is not something we talk about often, but it impacts many of the programs we care about. From Medicaid and affordable housing to childcare subsidies and federal grants for school meal programs, the money we pay is supposed to help everyone. That is why it is way past time for billionaires to live by the same rules as the rest of us and pay what they owe! The fact is that Rhode Island families are paying their fair share of taxes but American billionaires are NOT! Too many people in our state are scared about the future, but the nation’s 700 billionaires face no such worries. Unlike the rest of us who struggled through the pandemic and are now trying to catch up in its aftermath, billionaires actually increased their wealth substantially during the last two years.
- Recent data show billionaires have gotten $1.7 trillion richer over the first two years of the pandemic.
- The report shows a 22.9% increase in personal wealth for a Rhode Island billionaire over the past two years.
That’s a stark contrast to the number of people in our state who lost jobs, businesses and suffered through illness over that same period! The concentration of growing wealthy among the top .01% is astounding and the ultra-wealthy don’t follow the rules that the rest of us live by–they have their own. If you or I get a raise, we make more and therefore pay more taxes, but when rich people hit a stock market bonanza that increases their wealth exponentially, they don’t. Many of us enjoy the innovations and inventions that wealthy entrepreneurs have created, but they should still adhere to the same rules as everyone else! Wealthy people could continue to be wealthy while paying a fairer share of taxes than they currently do. There are a couple different versions of bills to finally require the ultra-wealthy to pay taxes on the annual increases in their wealth the same way that the rest of us pay taxes on our income from work.
- TAKE ACTION: Help us urge our members of Congress to #TaxBillionaires and ensure that they are paying their fair share!
The revenue raised from taxing this richest category of Americans could be used for any number of critical investments including lowering the cost of healthcare and education, covering dental, vision and hearing services for seniors in Medicare for the first time. Under these plans billionaires will start paying income taxes on the gains in their wealth each year just like workers pay taxes on their paychecks each year. Billionaires who now go tax free will finally have to pay something closer to their fair share. This makes sense – and could make a positive impact on many families in our state. Speak out with us TODAY!