A group of extraordinarily wealthy Americans that includes Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, Walt Disney Company heiress Abigail Disney and investor and philanthropist George Soros have issued a collective call for higher taxes on the rich.
In a letter published Monday, the 19 signatories say that the U.S. has “a moral, ethical and economic responsibility to tax our wealth more” as part of a national effort to strengthen democracy, boost the economy, improve health care and address climate change.
“We are writing to call on all candidates for President, whether they are Republicans or Democrats, to support a moderate wealth tax on the fortunes of the richest one-tenth of the richest 1% of Americans -- on us,” the letter says. “The next dollar of new tax revenue should come from the most financially fortunate, not from middle-income and lower-income Americans.”
The letter notes that several presidential candidates including Sen. Elizabeth Warren have proposed a wealth tax and says that arguments against such a policy “are mostly technical and often overstated.” The complexities of imposing such a tax can be solved easily enough, the authors say, and shouldn’t distract the nation from the important issues at hand. “Instituting a wealth tax is in the interest of our republic,” the letter says, and “taking on this tax is the least we can do to strengthen the country we love.”
