For Immediate Release: October 4, 2022
Contact: Will Pregman, [email protected], 702.752.0656
Battle Born Progress Applauds Rep. Dina Titus on her co-sponsoring the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax Act
As Working Families Pay Their Fair Share, Groups Will Urge Congress to Tax Billionaires Who Avoid Paying What They Owe Thanks to Skewed Tax Rules
Nevada – Battle Born Progress applauds Congresswoman Dina Titus and endorses the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax Act, HR 8558 calling for the wealthiest households to pay what they owe in taxes.
Many billionaires are currently paying a lower tax rate than the average taxpayer, including nurses, firefighters, and teachers. The billionaire income tax will close a loophole that currently allows some billionaires to pay little or no federal income taxes on their investment gains. The Billionaire Minimum Income Tax could raise $360 billion over 10 years.
This could help Nevadans keep up with rising costs. This legislation bans members of Congress from trading individual stocks and passes a billionaires income tax that makes them pay their fair share by requiring those worth more than $100 million to pay an income tax rate of at least 20%.
Last Spring Battle Born Progress presented a report on the pandemic wealth growth of Nevada’s billionaires. The report details reasons that investment income may never be taxed—unless Congress adopts a billionaires minimum income tax to close a gaping loophole.
The sizable wealth gains among Nevadas billionaires over the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic contrast sharply with the economic uncertainty, social isolation, and health dangers experienced by regular Nevadans. Nevada billionaires grew their networth by $33.6 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic while many Nevadans experienced economic setbacks they are only just starting to recover from, including disruptions in jobs, small businesses, housing, and healthcare access.
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, many of these issues are on the mend. But without raising revenue by making the rich pay what they owe, the recovery for average Nevadans will take even longer.
“Nevada’s Democratic members of Congress delivered for Nevada working families by voting for the Inflation Reduction Act. Congresswoman Dina Titus took it a step further, with the support of the Billionaires Income Tax legislation,” said Annette Magnus, Executive Director of Battle Born Progress. “For too long, billionaires in Nevada have enjoyed not paying what they owe in taxes, leaving the rest of us to pick up the slack in paying for essential services, like education, health care, and infrastructure. The IRA is already helping to lower costs for working families, without raising taxes on anyone making under $400,000 a year. With the Billionaire Income Tax, we can help ensure that the ultra-rich are not paying less in taxes than a nurse, educator, firefighter, or any other type of work. Since Nevada billionaires like Steve Wynn blow their disposable cash funding election denier candidates, like Adam Laxalt, to stack the deck in their favor at the expense of our families, it stands to reason that some portion of that wealth may go towards building a stronger economy for working families and small businesses. The Billionaire Income Tax is a step towards achieving that goal.”
The Inflation Reduction Act helps people, the planet, and the economy by also making the largest-to-date investment in a transition to clean energy. The bill will cut household energy costs by an average of $500 a year, reduce carbon emissions and pollution that harm the environment and our health, and will create thousands of good-paying jobs in upgraded domestic manufacturing. Clean air, water and food as well as living wage employment are key determinants of health in any community.
The legislation also makes the tax system more fair and deters tax dodging by large corporations and super wealthy individuals. It provides the IRS with the resources to track down tax cheats. It will require profitable corporations like drug manufactures and oil companies to pay a minimum corporate tax. The 15% minimum tax would ensure that prescription drug, high tech corporations, and some retail companies, which avoid taxes by offshoring jobs and stashing their profits in tax havens will finally start paying more of their fair share. Over 50 large corporations paid zero in taxes in 2020 thanks to corporate tax loopholes and breaks that enable them to avoid paying what they owe.
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About Battle Born Progress: Battle Born Progress, through strategic communication efforts, empowers, engages, and mobilizes Nevada voters to build a state where everyone has a fair opportunity to succeed. We support, engage, and mobilize the progressive community through bold leadership, strategic communications, accountability, and education. We are on the cutting edge of new media and are the go-to source for progressive issues and advocacy for traditional media. Learn more at https://battlebornprogress.org/.
