Voters Strongly Support a Billionaire Minimum Tax
By William Diep
President Joe Biden has proposed a “billionaire minimum tax,” which would require American households that make more than $100 million per year to pay at least 25% of their income in taxes. Recently, Vice President Kamala Harris has adopted this proposal as part of her presidential campaign. New polling from Data for Progress finds that likely voters overwhelmingly believe that billionaires should be paying more in taxes, and a clear majority support Harris’ proposal for a “billionaire minimum tax.”
From September 6 to 11, 2024, Data for Progress surveyed national likely voters to measure support for tax rates on the wealthiest Americans. More than 7 in 10 likely voters, including 87% of Democrats, 71% of Independents, and 53% of Republicans, think American billionaires should be paying more in taxes.
Currently, Americans who own assets like stocks, fine art, and real estate only have to pay a tax on the income they have made from those assets when they are sold. Harris’ “billionaire minimum tax” proposes that households worth over $100 million pay a minimum 25% tax on all of their income. The tax would include gains on investments like stock, fine art, and real estate, regardless of whether or not they are sold.
A majority of voters, including 82% of Democrats and 55% of Independents, support this proposal for a minimum 25% tax on the incomes of households worth over $100 million.
By and large, most likely voters think the wealthiest Americans pay too little in taxes and support a minimum tax proposal for the wealthiest Americans.
William Diep (@WilliamDiep6) is a communications intern at Data for Progress.