Sen. Bernie Sanders proposes one-time tax that would cost Jeff Bezos $42.8 billion, Elon Musk $27.5 billion

CNBC via MSN ^ | 08/07/2020 | Lauren Feiner

[SeekAndFind]

Top tech leaders and other billionaires would be forced to hand over billions of dollars in wealth they've gained during the coronavirus pandemic under a new bill introduced by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.

The "Make Billionaires Pay Act" would impose a one-time 60% tax on wealth gains made by billionaires between March 18, 2020, and Jan. 1, 2021. The funds would be used to pay for out-of-pocket health-care expenses for all Americans for a year. As of Aug. 5, the bill would tax $731 billion in wealth accumulated by 467 billionaires since March 18, according to a press release. If passed, the bill would tax billionaires on wealth accumulated through the end of the year, however.

Under the bill, tech and other business titans who have seen their wealth shoot up during the pandemic would take huge charges. Amazon and Walmart, for example, have both seen their stocks grow as Americans increasingly relied on their services during stay-at-home orders during the pandemic.

That added billions of dollars in wealth for their top shareholders, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Walmart founding family the Waltons, respectively.

Here's how much some would pay under the bill due to wealth gains between March 18 and Aug. 5, according to a release accompanying the bill:

* Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would pay a one-time wealth tax of $42.8 billion.

* Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk would pay a one-time wealth tax of $27.5 billion.

* Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg would pay a one-time wealth tax of $22.8 billion.

* The Walton family would pay a one-time wealth tax of $12.9 billion.

Those figures could rise (or lower) as the effect of the pandemic on the billionaires' wealth changes over the rest of the year.

[Strident]

The billions are stashed in their basements. They frequently go down there and ride toboggans down slopes of piled up bullion and coins.

Bernie’s frame of reference is reading Donald Duck comics.

[farming pharmer]

I strain to disagree with you.

It's a seductive idea, not a good idea.

It would be nice though, to see these obscenely wealthy douchebags improve humanity and not devolve into astronomical assclowns.

[Kickass Conservative]

Nancy wants $3.4 Trillion Dollars.
The money Bernie wants is a drop in the bucket.

[MinorityRepublican]

Not necessary a bad idea. But we are printing money so who gives a crap anyway?

[redshawk]

Seems that the Walton’s got off cheap.

[MinorityRepublican]

Throw in Bill Gates and George Soros too, while you are at it.

I agree 💯

[faithhopecharity]

The federal income tax (implemented by the socalled progressives of a century ago) was sold as one where “the average working American will never have to pay a single thin dime in the new tax”

it was sold as only applying to the billionaires of that era

ALSO,
withholding of your wages was not a part of the fed income tax until the WW2 era, when Pres. Roosevelt asked for withholding to quicken revenue flow so the govt could finance the war effort better. It was supposedly only a temporary expedient.

ALSO,
we can name several prominent toll bridges where voters were promised that the tolls would be removed as soon as the original construction bonds were repaid. Like, in the 1930’s but the tolls not only have continued since then but have increased many times over.

[adorno]

I’m all for taxing the super-rich who support democrats and socialists.

Perhaps then they’ll stop acting so stupid by supporting those who are anti-rich/anti-capitalism.

Bezos should be taxed at 90% of his total net-worth.

[hanamizu]

Bernie’s frame of reference is reading Donald Duck comics.

---

As a lad, I was enchanted by Scrooge McDuck and his money bin. My dad, who was in finance, scoffed at the idea of a money bin. Scrooge would put that money to work and make even more money.

As I understand it, Sanders is proposing a tax on unrealized capital gains. That is he want to tax ‘billionaires’ on their paper profits.

I’ve made a paper profit of over $7000 on some Apple Stock I bought 6 years ago. I’m very happy about it, but since I’ve haven’t sold it, I’ve not gotten any benefit from it—except a bit of smugness. I’m not a billionaire, but how about the stock I’ve bought that has gone down in value? Is Sanders going to send me a check for my paper loss?

[EagleUSA]

Yeah, Comrade Bernie, sure....the ole concept of THE TEMPORARY TAX. About as rare as an honest Democrat....I know it might do you in Bernie, but GET A REAL JOB.

[Sequoyah101]

That is my thought.

In the times when the lottery got to obscene proportions I let myself go on a lark and buy a ticket then think of all the things I would really want to do. I easily run out of things I would enjoy or be able to use and establish a personal endowment for living expense. After that I start thinking about how to employ it best. There are so many things that are worth saving that constantly struggle for funds.

I have too much already I don’t need without building up treasures like that. Too many of these assclowns think that wealth or fame somehow give them a special right to tell others how to live or what they should do. It is the thirst for power that drives them I guess. Either that or they are just compensating for some other deficiency.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“Currently he’s a seditionist shitbag with access to more money than 99.99999999999% of the people on earth.

That said, he earned it.

It’s his private property.

[Lurker]

And it would all be gone in less than 6 months.

L

[Undecided 2012]

Hey, I’m an old guy who retired very young at 46. What is needed is to cut spending, like bigly. That will get things moving. Printing money doesn’t produce sheet.

[Flick Lives]

That is not a tax, it’s confiscation. It would start with billionaires, then millionaires, then anyone with a dime to their name.

[HighSierra5]

POS.

[Ozark Tom]

Lay’s Potato Chips...

[nwrep]

I support it. Most of these guys are socialists anyway.

[Army Air Corps]

“One Time”...every year...
That is what Bernie meant.

[ThunderSleeps]

Do they think that money is just sitting in a vault somewhere? Stuffed in a mattress? Buried in Mason jars? No, it is invested and working. Maybe in another startup. Maybe in pharmaceutical research. Maybe in the pet store down the street. All Bernie's tax is, is him and other communists saying they want to control resources they didn't earn. They want to decide winners and losers, who gets a shot, who doesn't. It is all about control.