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Sen. Wyden Unveils Plan to Raise Billions by Taxing 700 Most Ridiculously Wealthy Americans

The plan would impose multibillion-dollar tax bills on the likes of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

The richest 700 people in the United States are the target of plans for a special new tax on the super-rich that were released by the Senate’s top tax writer early Wednesday morning. Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) said his plan would only affect people who have more than $1 billion in assets, or who earn more than $100 million three years in a row. His so-called Billionaires Income Tax would stop America’s richest people from deferring certain taxes—a move the senator claims would raise hundreds of billions of dollars every year. In a statement, Wyden said: “The Billionaires Income Tax would ensure billionaires pay tax every year, just like working Americans... No working person in America thinks it’s right that they pay their taxes and billionaires don’t.” The ridiculously wealthy would be hit with multibillion-dollar tax bills under the plan, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO Elon Musk who has lashed out at the plan.