Taxing the wealthy boosts economic freedom and allows working people to build their wealth – and it won’t hinder the wealthy from investing
Liesel Pritzker Simmons and Ian Simmons 21 -- Liesel Pritzker Simmons and Ian Simmons are the co-founders and principals of Blue Haven Initiative, a family office invested in public and private assets in the United States and around the world. (“To Build Back Better, Tax Families Like Ours”, Time, 9-29-2021, https://time.com/6102003/tax-wealthy-biden-build-back-better/, Date Accessed 7-7-2023) //TCM
It’s popular, powerful politics for a simple reason: higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy can pay for urgent, shared needs without overburdening anyone. Less than 1,000 Americans would pay a billionaire’s income tax. Only one-twentieth of the richest 1% would pay the annual tax on fortunes over $50 million. Taxes like these on billionaires and ultra-millionaires wouldn’t damage their quality of life—it certainly wouldn’t hurt ours—and no one who wasn’t already an ultra-millionaire would pay a cent under either policy. Taxing America’s wealthiest citizens is productive and patriotic, not punitive. Improved roads and railways, safer neighborhoods and high-quality schools in every zip code boost economic freedom and allow working people to build wealth of their own. Foundations bearing the names of billionaire families frequently advocate for government action on productive investments like , and . Taxing a fraction of the fortunes of billionaire families would pay for scaling the most effective solutions in a way that philanthropy cannot. For those worried about a backlash, trust us: There may be some whining and bluffing, but a wealth tax won’t hinder the drive of the wealthiest to invest in entrepreneurs. Ultra-wealthy people won’t renounce their citizenship en masse. Our family’s relative tax burden will still be light; billionaires’ will be manageable, to say the least.