(Fast Company) - A nonpartisan group of high-net-worth Americans has issued an open letter to Congress urging a tax increase on themselves and those even wealthier in order to pay for the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill making its way through the House.
The group, called the Patriotic Millionaires, is urging Congress to change the tax code so that the rich pay a higher tax rate than the poor and middle class.
Specifically, the Patriotic Millionaires are asking Congress to enact three changes in legislation proposed by the House Ways and Means Committee. Those changes include:
- Ending the 20% capital gains tax rate for people with income over $1 million. The average income is taxed up to 37%.
- Ending the ability for billionaires to pay no capital gains taxes on inherited assets.
- Ending the Carried Interest Loophole that hedge fund managers use to characterize their income as capital gains, thus paying a lower tax rate.
If the Patriotic Millionaires sounds familiar to you, that’s because the organization has been on a roll since the pandemic began urging the U.S. to tax millionaires and billionaires more for the good of the country. In August, the Patriotic Millionaires was one of four groups that urged governments to issue a one-time 99% tax on the wealth the rich accumulated during the pandemic in order to pay for fully vaccinating every person on earth and also giving every unemployed person $20,000 in cash.
The Patriotic Millionaires warn that if their latest advice isn’t heeded inequality and social unrest will only accelerate in America, making the country even more unstable. The group is asking the public who support their plan to let their voices be heard by signing their open letter urging the end of the tax code’s preferential treatment of the rich.
