How 938 billionaires could fund $3,000 payments for millions of Americans

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

The math says yes, and a congressional bill proposed this week aims to do exactly that. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, have introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act, which targets the nation’s 938 billionaires.

Those billionaires are collectively worth $8.2 trillion, the lawmakers said in a news release, and a 5% wealth tax on just that group could generate enough revenue for direct $3,000 payments to each person in households that make less than $150,000 annually. That would be $9,000 for a family of three or $15,000 for a family of five.

(snip)

Sen. Ron Wyden supports having billionaires “pay a fair share,” his office said Wednesday, and last September the Oregon Democrat introduced the Billionaires Income Tax Act. That bill, which is co-sponsored by Sanders and remains in committee in both the House and the Senate, would generate about $500 billion by expanding on an accounting method that already exists in the U.S. tax code.

(snip)

Sanders and Khanna said that in addition to providing the direct payments, their bill also would reverse $1.1 trillion in healthcare cuts from last summer’s Big Beautiful Bill and expand Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing.

(snip)

https://www.oregonlive.com/nation/2026/03/how-938-billionaires-could-fund-3000-payments-for-millions-of-americans.html

[Bread and Circuses]

1. Thank you Bernie and Ro

It will never pass but you’re showing HOW it can be down and why!

Only 5% wealth tax and the billionaires will still be billionaires.

[MichMan]

2. With all the talk about wealth taxes, I never understood exactly how they would determine who owed it and how much?

Wouldn't it require everyone's net worth of all their assets to be determined every year? Otherwise, how would they know who was over or under a billion, and what government agency would be tasked with doing that?

[Uncle Joe]

3. Apparently they've already determined by net worth that the U.S. has a little over 900 billionaires out

about 350 million people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_billionaires

[MichMan]

4. Says it is estimated by Forbes in a wiki article

Do we assess taxes on people based on estimates by outside groups not associated with any government agency?

In order to assess taxes, the government would need to determine exactly how much each one has at the time of taxing. Do they have $900 million (therefore exempt from a billionaire tax), $1.1 billion, or $10 billion?

[Uncle Joe]

5. I imagine the IRS can handle such a process. n/t

[MichMan]

6. Total wealth includes things like homes, investment accounts, personal property, and a myriad of other holdings

How would the IRS determine every year what all those things are worth? They would have to assess the current value of things like homes, aircraft, cars, artwork, precious metals, stocks, bonds & other investments and every other single thing that someone owned. How?

Currently, the IRS taxes me only on income. They might know what my retirement accounts are worth, but have no idea what my home and all my personal property is valued at.

[Uncle Joe]

7. How difficult is that information to compile? We sell everything based on worth. n/t