President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats want to raise taxes on the rich to pay for their $3.5 trillion plan to expand the nation’s safety net, saying the wealthy should pay their fair share. All told, the legislation would bring in an additional $1 trillion in revenue from high-income Americans, according to estimates.
- The top 1% paid $615.7 billion in federal income taxes, about 40% of the total, in 2018.
- The percentage of federal income tax paid by the bottom half of taxpayers fell from 4.9% in 2001 to just below 3% in 2018.
The rich would be hit in a variety of ways under the proposal advanced by the House Ways & Means Committee.
The top marginal income tax rate would rise to 39.6%, up from 37%, and would apply to single filers with taxable income greater than $400,000 and married couples earning more than $450,000 annually.
The Democrats are planning to push through the $3.5 trillion budget package via reconciliation so it would not need any Republican support in the Senate.
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