Tag Archives: Taxes

Taxes are having a moment

Taxes are having a moment. Tomorrow night, President Biden will deliver his annual State of the Union address before both houses of Congress. He is expected to touch on a number of critical issues, but early reports suggest the President will emphasize economic populism, and in particular, call for the ultra-wealthy and corporations to pay more in taxes. In what may be his biggest televised appearance before … Continue reading Taxes are having a moment »

Our First Endorsements of 2024

We hate to kick things off with a cliché, but it’s an important one: elections have consequences. While cynics will dismiss elections as a rubber stamp on the status quo, the reality is that two starkly different realities are possible in January of 2025. In one of those realities, a newly inaugurated President Trump kicks off his second term with a series of vengeful abuses of … Continue reading Our First Endorsements of 2024 »

Breadcrumbs for the Poor and Bread Baskets for Corporations

The new bipartisan tax deal is just the first of many battles that will ensue over the next year with the expiration of a number of the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Unfortunately, Democrats just can’t seem to help themselves. Instead of standing up and demanding what America really needs – a smart tax code that incentivizes the society they want – they have once again gone … Continue reading Breadcrumbs for the Poor and Bread Baskets for Corporations »

Congress is Trading Horses. Kids are Losing Out.

Republicans and Democrats have been engaging in some horse trading on tax policy lately, but the deal, in its current form, provides corporations – already flush with cash – a massive tax break while working families will see only a modest extension of the Child Tax Credit. Two weeks ago, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason … Continue reading Congress is Trading Horses. Kids are Losing Out. »

The Year Ahead

Happy new year! We hope that you had a wonderful holiday season and that your new year has begun with notes of hope and joy. Like everyone else, the Patriotic Millionaires are using the start of a new year to take stock of our priorities and map out the challenges – and opportunities – we anticipate in the year ahead. For this week’s Closer Look, … Continue reading The Year Ahead »

Republicans’ Track Record on Tax Evasion is Abysmal

Last week, President Biden’s son Hunter was indicted on nine counts of tax evasion by David Weiss, the special counsel leading an investigation into Hunter’s business dealings. The 56-page indictment alleges that, between 2016 and 2019, Hunter failed to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes, and instead used the millions he received in income over that period to fund an “extravagant lifestyle.” Republicans who see the Biden … Continue reading Republicans’ Track Record on Tax Evasion is Abysmal »

Sounding Alarms and Waving Flags about Moore v. US

Next week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for Moore v. United States. At the eleventh hour, this seemingly esoteric case is starting to get “Moore” attention from the broader public, which is a welcome development considering the damage it could do in the fight for tax justice in America. For several months, the Patriotic Millionaires have been sounding the alarm over Moore v. United States. … Continue reading Sounding Alarms and Waving Flags about Moore v. US »

Morris Pearl Testifies Before Congress: “Tax me!”

The Patriotic Millionaires are always up to exciting things, but today was exceptional: our Chair, Morris Pearl, testified in person before the Senate Committee on Finance at their hearing, “Examining How the Tax Code Affects High-Income Individuals and Tax Planning Strategies.” The hearing focused on the ways in which the tax code treats wealthy Americans like Morris and our members, with a particular focus on … Continue reading Morris Pearl Testifies Before Congress: “Tax me!” »

Get ready for Moore trouble with the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has been on a roll lately, but, unfortunately, not in the right direction. On June 29, the conservative majority on the Court voted to strike down affirmative action admissions policies at our nation’s colleges and universities. (Click HERE to read the Patriotic Millionaires’ response to the decision.) The next day, June 30, the same majority then voted to block the implementation of President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. … Continue reading Get ready for Moore trouble with the Supreme Court »

The real reason we want to raise taxes on the rich

My name is Bob Lord and I’m the Patriotic Millionaires’ Senior Advisor on Tax Policy. Before my time here, I practiced tax law for forty years and also ran for Congress back in 2008. We usually write this newsletter in the collective voice of the Patriotic Millionaires’ membership. This week though, I’d like to take the reins and give you my perspective on the new … Continue reading The real reason we want to raise taxes on the rich »

High Flyers – The Cost of Private Jets for the Rest of Us

There is perhaps no greater symbol for our current age of extreme wealth, inequality, and environmental devastation than private jets. Earlier this month, the Patriotic Millionaires co-released a report – High Flyers 2023: How Ultra-Rich Private Jet Travel Costs the Rest of Us and Burns Up Our Planet – with the Institute for Policy Studies about the negative impacts of the private jet industry on … Continue reading High Flyers – The Cost of Private Jets for the Rest of Us »

Why We Don’t Just Send a Check to the IRS

Last week’s 2023 Annual Spring Meeting was a smashing success! Over the course of two days, we hosted policymakers, experts, and activists in conversations about the need to restructure the economy to reduce inequality, and held dozens of meetings with key lawmakers on Capitol Hill to advocate for higher taxes on ourselves and other wealthy Americans. While we were hard at work fighting to transform … Continue reading Why We Don’t Just Send a Check to the IRS »

Patriotic Millionaires Head to Washington for Tax Day

Happy Tax Day! For millions of Americans, today is the last day to file federal, state, and local taxes. (If you haven’t already filed, get cracking!) But Tax Day is more than just a filing deadline – it’s the one day a year when everyone in America is thinking about taxes, and is an annual reminder of just how skewed in favor of the rich … Continue reading Patriotic Millionaires Head to Washington for Tax Day »

Why Patriotic Millionaires Love High-Tax States

As Tax Day approaches, it’s a good time to examine some myths about how people – and the wealthy in particular – respond to higher taxes. As we all know, tax rates differ from state to state, in some cases dramatically. According to a report released last week, residents in New York, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maryland have the highest tax burdens in the … Continue reading Why Patriotic Millionaires Love High-Tax States »

The FairTax Act is Nowhere Near Fair

If you thought the GOP’s dedication to cutting taxes for rich people at any cost couldn’t get any more extreme, you might want to think again. The latest proposal out of the House takes their radicalism to a whole new level. Earlier this month, a group of House Republicans – including Earl “Buddy” Carter, Scott Perry, Matt Gaetz, and Marjorie Taylor Greene – re-introduced legislation … Continue reading The FairTax Act is Nowhere Near Fair »

Who’s Taxed More: Trump or a Cardiologist?

When you add up the numbers from reporting by the New York Times and the recently released House Ways and Means Committee Report on Trump’s taxes, Donald Trump paid total federal income taxes of about $1.8 million between 1996 and 2020, a 25-year period. He paid another $70 million or so between 2005 and 2007, but had all of that refunded to him when he … Continue reading Who’s Taxed More: Trump or a Cardiologist? »

Survival of the Richest

This week, over 2,700 world leaders are attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland – better known as simply “Davos.” Every year, elites from business, politics, and civil society meet at this annual conference held at an exclusive and luxurious Swiss ski resort to discuss humanity’s most pressing problems. And every year, they fail to make any real change because they refuse to … Continue reading Survival of the Richest »

House Republicans Want to Protect Wealthy Tax Cheats

As the new House GOP majority tries over and over again to elect a Speaker, the already-glaring dysfunction of the 118th Congress is hard to miss. But as we watch the GOP caucus fight amongst itself and paralyze our government, we should be preparing for something even worse – House Republicans working together. They may disagree on who should be their leader, but House Republicans … Continue reading House Republicans Want to Protect Wealthy Tax Cheats »

The clock is ticking on Democrats’ legislative agenda

This week, Congress has returned to work in Washington after the Thanksgiving break and will now finish out its “lame-duck session” – the legislative period between elections and the entry of a new Congress. This is crunch time for many important legislative goals for Democrats since they will lose control of the House come January. For this week’s Closer Look, we want to highlight a few of these legislative … Continue reading The clock is ticking on Democrats’ legislative agenda »