Saez and Zucman estimate conservatively that Warren's wealth tax proposal would raise $2.75 trillion over the next decade. If you redo the same calculation without bending over backward the expected haul is $3.1 trillion. The arithmetic is straightforward. There are 78,000 households with net worth greater than $50m (the top 0.06 percent of 130m US households) and 900 households with net worth greater than $1 billion. Total taxable wealth above these thresholds is $10.5 and $3.1 trillion (Cf. total wealth of American households $94 trillion). 2 percent of the former is $210 billion and 1 percent of the latter is $31 billion, for an annual haul of $241 billion, which under the CBO's baseline projections is multiplied by a factor of 13 to get the tax revenue over the next decade (nifty rule of thumb), 13*$241=$3,133 billion.
Progressive Tax Proposals Are Quite Modest
Progressive Tax Proposals Are Quite Modest
Progressive Tax Proposals Are Quite Modest
Saez and Zucman estimate conservatively that Warren's wealth tax proposal would raise $2.75 trillion over the next decade. If you redo the same calculation without bending over backward the expected haul is $3.1 trillion. The arithmetic is straightforward. There are 78,000 households with net worth greater than $50m (the top 0.06 percent of 130m US households) and 900 households with net worth greater than $1 billion. Total taxable wealth above these thresholds is $10.5 and $3.1 trillion (Cf. total wealth of American households $94 trillion). 2 percent of the former is $210 billion and 1 percent of the latter is $31 billion, for an annual haul of $241 billion, which under the CBO's baseline projections is multiplied by a factor of 13 to get the tax revenue over the next decade (nifty rule of thumb), 13*$241=$3,133 billion.