Democrat Rep. Thomas Suozzi is exploring a one-time tax on wealthy Americans as Democrats are looking for ways to pay for their partisan wish list while they control Congress.
Suozzi (D-NY), who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, told the Hill he is looking into a one-time tax on millionaires, called the “patriot tax.” The tax would be a “one-time surcharge of 2.5 percent on wealth between $50 million and $100 million and a 5 percent tax on wealth above $100 million.” According to Suozzi, the affected Americans would be able to pay the tax over a five-year period.
Reportedly, Suozzi’s office cited research that estimates such a tax could raise about $450 billion.
“We all know that people who are wealthy did very well during the pandemic and people that were low-income people did not do well,” he said.
He also added that for wealthy people, the surcharge would be “a way to help your country to build back better.”
As of now, Suozzi has not introduced any type of legislation on the idea. However, undoubtedly the tax would face Republican challenges and the Biden administration has currently not endorsed any proposals for wealth taxes.
In recent years Democrats have gradually floated more ideas for a wealth tax to force wealthy Americans to pay more in taxes. According to the Hill, Suozzi “has some similarities to wealth taxes proposed by progressive lawmakers such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), but Warren’s proposal would create an annual tax rather than a one-time tax.”
The report noted, “Suozzi’s comments also come amid a debate over how to pay for infrastructure spending.” The two partisan packages from the Democrats combined could cost upwards of $4 trillion.