If Sinema Won’t Let Dems Raise Rates, They Should Tax Billionaires’ Unrealized Gains

Friday, October 22

For Immediate Release
Friday, October 22, 2021
Contact: Sam Quigley

Patriotic Millionaires Call on Congressional Democrats to Include Billionaires Income Tax in Reconciliation

“Rather than tinkering with changing rates for existing programs, it’s time for them to start looking at wholesale structural changes to our tax code.”

WASHINGTON, DC – This morning, in response to recent reports that Senator Kyrsten Sinema is allegedly opposed to any increase to corporate tax rates or personal tax rates for wealthy individuals, Morris Pearl the Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director at BlackRock, Inc., released the following statement:

“It is flat-out absurd that Senator Sinema is allegedly refusing to raise tax rates on corporations or wealthy individuals. It seems truly unhinged to look at a country full of working people struggling to get by in the wake of a devastating pandemic and decide that it’s more important to preserve low tax rates for billionaires and corporations than it is to make significant investments in our families and our communities.

But if that’s the political reality we are faced with, then Democrats must get more creative. Rather than tinkering with changing rates for existing programs, it’s time for them to start looking at wholesale structural changes to our tax code, starting with the billionaire’s income tax promoted by Senator Ron Wyden.

Billionaire wealth in America has risen by over $2.1 trillion just since the start of the pandemic. Yet because we allow the wealthy to defer taxes on capital gains until the time of sale, almost none of the money they have made has been taxed, and much of it will actually never be taxed. It’s time for billionaires to start paying their fair share, and it’s time for Senator Sinema and Senator Manchin to stand in support of this solution that would raise hundreds of billions of dollars for much-needed investments in our country without costing 99.9% of Americans a penny.”

For more information please contact Sam Quigley via email at sam@patrioticmillionaires.org.