When our tax system benefits millionaires and billionaires, it fails hardworking Americans.

 

America operates on the basis of a beautifully complex social contract, where we all have a voice and a role to play. As citizens, one of our obligations is to contribute taxes to support the needs of our society: to fund the federal government, schools, infrastructure, basic services, our states, and so much more. Yet, our tax system is far from perfect: it’s built to give millionaires the economic and political power that should belong to everybody. 

 

That is why we propose three solutions to fix our federal tax system: (1) repealing the tax cuts on the wealthy implemented by the Trump administration, (2) changing the way we tax capital gains to treat them more like traditional income, and (3) rewriting the tax code to create more brackets to justly collect revenue.

 

President Trump’s tax cuts benefitted the richest amongst us. Under his system, the tax filer earning over $1,000,000 per year will receive over $100,000 in tax breaks; it is hard to imagine that millionaires would need that break. On the other hand, the average household in the bottom 10% will see their costs go up $1,200 when factoring in the loss of benefits like Medicare and SNAP. Finally, the lowest earners (those earning less than $15,000 per year) will see a 56% increase in their tax bill by 2033 when the temporary provisions expire. How can we allow such a backwards system to exist?

 

By revisiting the way capital gains are taxed, we will also ensure your hours and wages – the core of your income – are not taxed at higher levels than investment income. Why should income made from stock trades and other assets be taxed less than traditional income? Income that may very well have been created by the increase in the values of an asset that a shareholder likely had no hand in. There is no labor required to hold a stock so it should not be taxed less.

 

Since the highest bracket currently taxes all who earn more than $500k per year at the same rate, we will rewrite the tax code to create new brackets with higher and stratified rates for top earners. Although the current highest tax bracket is much much higher than most, it does not account for the millionaires and billionaires who live lavish and extravagant lifestyles at the expense of middle-class taxpayers.

 

As a final note, we’ll fight to repeal the antiquated tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, which continue to harm American consumers and businesses. We will fight to restore congressional authority over our nation’s trade policy to protect consumers and businesses in our district and across our great nation.

​