Name Sage Campbell Date: 9/28/2020 Period: 2

Party: Democrat\Green Party State: Vermont District (if House): Blank

Committee Referral: Appropriations Needed:

Blank ☐Yes or ​XNo​ ​(check one)

Bill Title​_Campbell’s Wealthe Tax of 2020_____________________________

115​th​ Congress

2nd Session

HB or SB #__9_________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OR SENATE

Date​____9/28/2020_____________________

A BILL

Be it enacted by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in

Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the Campbell’s Wealth tax of 2020​__________________​.

SECTION 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/NEED

(1) ​Income inequality in the U.S has always been around. However, the gap between the
rich and poor has grown substantially and hasn’t been as wide as it has become today.
Since the 1960s the share of income between the rich and the poor has completely
reversed.

(2) ​The bottom 50% of people making most of the nation's shared income in the 60s
started its reverse when Reagan made multiple tax breaks for the rich in the 1980s. The
bottom 50% of people used to share over 20% of the U.S income, but now share about
10-15% of the U.S income.

(3) ​The top 1% now share over 20% of the U.S income. There are also many inequalities
focusing on race, gender, and sexual orientation when discussing income inequality in the
U.S. In fact, over 84% of the top 1% are males and almost all white. Because of these
inequalities the rich stay or become richer, and the poor stay poor. According to a story
done by TIME in 2018 62% of citizens born into the bottom half stay in the bottom half.

(4) ​ ​In 2014 the top 10% of people in the U.S held over 50% of the country’s income.
Leaving the rest of the U.S income with under 20% of that money for the bottom 50% of
the population. Since 2014, this inequality has kept rising.
(5) ​The wealth and income inequality in the U.S makes everything for the bottom 50%
harder. From healthcare, education, and social welfare. For those in the bottom half, it
becomes harder to have a happy and healthy life. Money weighs them down and enables
many opportunities that the wealthy naturally have. In addition, most of the wealth that
the top 5% hold is from exploiting their workforce and taking most of the profits made.
This takes vital resources away from many people in the bottom half. For example, there
is less funding for healthcare, education services, and social welfare like food and water.

SECTION 3. PROVISIONS - BENEFITS AND ELIGIBILITY

(1) ​The Campell’s Wealth Tax of 2020 would benefit all citizens that are in the bottom
50% of the wealth and income scale. This tax would benefit millions of people.
Additionally the tax would not be affecting those being taxed very much. Currently the
wealth line that divides the top %50 and bottom %50 is between $45,000 and $60,000
depending on which city or state you live in.

(2) ​Taxing the top 10% more would also promote public safety and welfare. For example,
in less fortunate communities where there are higher unemployment rates, drug activity,
and crime they are often underfunded by the government. This causes those communities
to be often forced into a cycle of crime and poverty.

(3) ​Taxing the top 10% more would also benefit all of the people in the bottom 50%. The
economy would become more equitable and the wealth should be spread throughout
society so everyone can have equal opportunities and similar resources.

(4) ​Funding generated from the wealth tax would go to currently underfunded social
services included but not limited to k-University education funding, universal healthcare,
social welfare, and underfunded local governments and areas of poverty\ poverty-related
crime.
​SECTION 4. PROVISIONS - TERMS AND BENEFITS OF SERVICE

(1) ​The Campbell’s Wealth Tax of 2020 will tax the top 10% 2% for wealth for those
with assets that amount to over $32 million and gradually rise up to 10% for those with
wealth in assets that amount to over $10 billion. This will come in the form of a wealth
tax. A wealth tax is a tax on one’s entirety of wealth. This includes taxes on all their
holdings icluding assets, income, and overall net worth.

(2) ​The top 10% only have a handful of taxes and most don't affect them very much.
Many of the current taxes are based on income. The top 1% pay less overall taxes than
the overall bottom 20% of the population in the U.S. The top 10% of the population pay
about 24% in taxes. This percentage would be tolerable if they didn’t hold less wealth.
Since the top 10% are made up of hundred millionaires and billionaires they should pay
more based on the fact that they have more. This will ensure that they pay their fair share
to the government and society as a whole.

(3) ​The tax will be enforced and implemented as of January 17th 2022, assuming the bill
gets passed. The tax would be open for edits or changes after a year of implementation.

(4) ​For those who don’t willingly pay the new wealth tax their wages will be garnished,
and according to their wealth brackett will be fined accordingly. If those in the top 10%
continuously don’t pay the wealth tax for more than 2 years their wages will be garnished
and there will be a 10% fine of the wages they owe as a consequence.

(5) ​Even though the top 10% pay more for income taxes then the rest of the population
they don’t have to pay for a lot of other taxes that everyone pays.For example someone
who makeover 130,000(everyone in the top 10%) wouldn’t need to pay extra taxes for
OASDI taxes(for social security). There are also many state and local taxes that regular
people have to pay. While it may appear that the wealthy pay much more taxes then the
general population you are only looking at one aspect of the overall picture the top 10%
don’t pay much for the amount of assets and money that they have
 (6) More funding will go to Universal Healthcare so all people in the country have the
opportunity to get treated or can be taken care of if needed. This will also help those who
may not have health insurance have access to safe and helpful healthcare. How much
funding is generated depends on what the wealth that each individual in the top %10 is
and how they pay based on their overall wealth that year. So theoretically this could
generate between $50 million to $1 billion based on the wealth of the individuals paying
the wealth tax.

SECTION 5. ADMINISTRATION ​(Government agencies and department to execute the law once its
passed)

The government agency that would monitor and enforce this tax law would be the
IRS(Internal Revenue Service). The IRS serves for three main purposes: processing
tax returns, enforcement, and taxpayer services. The IRS monitors and conducts
criminal investigations when it comes to tax laws.

SECTION 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS ​(Include amount of funding requested

AND rationale)
 ​The Campbell’s Wealth Tax of 2020 wouldn’t cost any money to pass. Although the
tax law would cost money to enforce and regulate. The money to regulate and
enforce the tax law would be funded by the government since the IRS would enforce
the law. Although this tax law wouldn’t cost any money the tax law would generate
funds to help all people that are in the bottom 50%. Currently the top 10% pay
about 29% on income tax annually. This disregards tax breaks, loopholes, and all of
the taxes that they don’t need to or have to pay. The new tax law would place an
annual tax on the overall net wealth an individual holds. Not only on the income
they obtain but for everything they hold(like property, assets, and etc.). The new tax
law would tax the top 10% 25% in a wealth tax. So annually the top 10% would pay
25% in taxes for all of their holding. Depending on how much wealth is accumulated
by individuals the new tax law would generate over 1 billion dollars per year. This
number can grow or change depending on what percent of wealth is being taxed and
when. Funds generated from this tax will be directed towards universal healthcare,
k-University education, social welfare, and underfunded areas. Out of the funds
40% will go towards universal healthcare, 25% will go to underfunded areas, 25%
will go towards k-university education, and 10% will go to general social welfare.

SOURCES ​(Provide the list of all sources used in researching the bill including name of source and
website link if online)

National Priorities Project:

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/revenues/#:~:t
ext=In%202015%2C%20total%20federal%20revenues,34%25%20of%20all%20tax%
20revenues.

Vox:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/11/4/20938229/zucman-saez-tax-rate
s-top-400

NPR:
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/05/782135614/how-would-a-wealth-tax-work#can

TIME:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc7g6Uhi1i4
ITEP:
https://itep.org/new-report-finds-that-upside-down-state-and-local-tax-systems-per
sist-contributing-to-inequality-in-most-states/

The Intercept:
https://theintercept.com/2019/04/13/tax-day-taxes-statistics/

The Economist:
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2017/10/19/higher-taxes-can-l
ower-inequality-without-denting-economic-growth

Pew Research Center:

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/06/a-closer-look-at-who-does-and-
doesnt-pay-u-s-income-tax/

TPC:
https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-does-irs-do-and-how-can-it-be
-improved#:~:text=The%20Internal%20Revenue%20Service%20(IRS,%2C%20taxpa
yer%20service%2C%20and%20enforcement.

Business Insider:

https://www.businessinsider.com/salary-top-half-earners-major-cities-2015-11