Press Releases

Congressmen Steve Cohen (TN-9) and Don Beyer (VA-8) today reintroduced the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax Act with 60 of their Congressional colleagues. The measure would prevent the wealthiest Americans from escaping federal income taxes or paying lower tax rates than ordinary Americans. President Biden proposed it in this year’s budget and called for Congress to act in this year’s State of the Union address.

Today’s reintroduction is identical to the version introduced last Congress except for a handful of technical revisions and an increase from a 20 percent minimum to a 25 percent minimum, to match President Biden’s FY24 proposal. The bill was drafted in coordination with the White House and U.S. Treasury Department to introduce the President’s plan as legislation. The bill would require households worth over $100 million to pay an annual minimum 25 percent tax rate on their full income, including regular income along with realized and unrealized gains.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“The Billionaire Minimum Income Tax will ensure that the ultra-wealthy pay at least a base level of taxes every year, just like other Americans. The minimum tax would apply only to the extremely few households with a net worth over $100 million. The full 25 percent rate would only apply to those with net worth over $200 million. The bill would not raise taxes on ultra-wealthy households that already pay at least 25 percent on their full income, nor would it affect 99.99 percent of households with a net worth below $100 million. Our goal is tax fairness and it is immensely popular with the American public.”

Congressman Beyer made the following statement:

“The Billionaire Minimum Income Tax Act is a simple policy that would prevent billionaires from paying a lower tax rate than working families – a crucial and necessary step toward rectifying the shortcomings of the failed trickle-down economics approach. Republicans cut taxes for the richest among us while proposing higher taxes for working people. Our bill instead champions a fair tax policy that not only places our nation on a more robust fiscal foundation but also promotes equity in the tax code by requiring the super-rich to pay their fair share, reducing inequality, and funding services the American people depend on.”

“Kudos to Reps. Cohen, Beyer and all their co-sponsors for introducing President Biden’s Billionaire Minimum Income Tax (BMIT). The BMIT will finally end the scandal of the ultra-rich—billionaire households and those worth at least $100 million (centi-millionaires)—paying little or no federal income tax despite their staggering fortunes. Recent research by Americans for Tax Fairness estimates that this tiny handful of the super-wealthy holds a breathtaking $8.5 trillion in unrealized capital gains that without the BMIT or similar legislation might never be taxed.” -- David Kass, executive director, Americans for Tax Fairness

“Our tax code enables the ultra-rich to dodge taxes on both realized and unrealized gains, which means that people who work for a living pay higher effective tax rates than billionaires. This is completely unacceptable. The Billionaire Minimum Income Tax will compel billionaires to contribute taxes to the nation that made them so wealthy in the first place. Congress made this mess by rigging the tax code against working people; now it's time for Congress to fix it. They should start by passing the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax.” -- Morris Pearl, Chair of Patriotic Millionaires and former managing director at BlackRock Inc.

“As an investor, I believe ensuring more of the country’s most financially fortunate citizens pay their share of taxes is productive and patriotic. The Billionaire Minimum Income Tax closes big loopholes in the tax system. Allowing the ultra-wealthy to pay lower tax rates than middle-class families undermines innovation, capitalism, and democracy in America. This proposal asks billionaires and ultra-millionaires to pull more of their weight for America’s future rather than burdening wage earners, small-business owners and future generations. I applaud President Biden, Congressmen Beyer and Cohen, and the many other co-sponsors for introducing this historic proposal.” -- Ian Simmons, Cofounder and Principal of Blue Haven Initiative, a family office

Original cosponsors of the bill include: Representatives Jan Schakowsky, Rashida Tlaib, Jesús “Chuy” García, Robin Kelly, James P. McGovern, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Danny K. Davis, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rosa L. DeLauro, Cori Bush, Jill Tokuda, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Brendan F. Boyle, Betty McCollum, Jamie Raskin, Jimmy Gomez, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jerrold Nadler, Katie Porter, Judy Chu, Mark Pocan, Bill Pascrell Jr., Susan Wild, John Garamendi, Adam B. Schiff, Bill Foster, Nikki Budzinski, Madeleine Dean, Mark DeSaulnier, Kevin Mullin, Greg Casar, Dan Goldman, Ilhan Omar, Greg Landsman, Seth Moulton, Mary Gay Scanlon, Grace F. Napolitano, Sheila Jackson Lee, Yvette D. Clarke, John B. Larson, Nikema Williams, Jared Huffman, Val Hoyle, Donald Norcross, Emanuel Cleaver II, Linda T. Sanchez, Maxine Waters, Andre Carson, Mark Takano, Dwight Evans, Troy A. Carter, Raul Grijalva, Lori Trahan, David Trone, Marcy Kaptur, Barbara Lee, Ted Lieu, Dina Titus, Maxwell Alejandro Frost, and William R. Keating.

Groups and organizations endorsing the measure in the 118^th Congress include:

The AFL-CIO; Alliance for Retired Americans; American Family Voices; American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE); American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME); American Federation of Teachers (AFT); American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC); Americans for Tax Fairness; Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO; Blue Haven Initiative; Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research; Center for Popular Democracy; Coalition on Human Needs; CommonDefense.us; Communications Workers of America (CWA); Demos; Economic Policy Institute; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Friends of the Earth U.S.; Greenpeace USA; Groundwork Action; Healthcare for America Now (HCAN); Indivisible; Institute for Policy Studies -Program on Inequality; Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP); International Brotherhood of Teamsters; International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE); Islamic Circle of North America Council for Social Justice; Main Street Alliance; MoveOn; National Education Association (NEA); National Employment Law Project; National Women's Law Center; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; Other98; Our Revolution; Oxfam America; Patriotic Millionaires; People's Action; Progressive Change Campaign Committee; Prosperity Now; Public Citizen; Responsible Wealth; RESULTS; RootsAction.org; Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Sojourners; Strong Economy for All; Tax Justice Network USA; UltraViolet; United Church of Christ Justice and Local Church Ministries; United for a Fair Economy; Unrig Our Economy; Voices For Progress; and Working America.