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Rep. Jayapal renews push for ultra-rich tax
Measure seeks to tax fortunes above $50 million as Democrats revive debate over wealth inequality.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 26, Mar 2026
- 13:15 EDT
- 12
Rep. Pramila Jayapal / Wikimedia commons
U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal renewed efforts to impose a tax on the wealth of the richest Americans, renewing a long-running Democratic push to target ultra-millionaires and billionaires as families face rising living costs on March 26.
Jayapal, alongside Senators Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Brendan F. Boyle, reintroduced the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, which would apply an annual tax on fortunes above $50 million.
Also read: Jayapal leads 5-step push for full Epstein file access
The bill would impose a 2 percent annual tax on the net worth of households and trusts valued at more than $50 million, and an additional 1 percent surtax on wealth above $1 billion, bringing the total annual tax on those fortunes to 3 percent.
According to the lawmakers, the legislation would raise an estimated $6.2 trillion over the next decade, which they said could be used to fund programs such as universal child care, free community college, housing, paid family leave and an expansion of Medicare.
“As millions of families are struggling under the weight of inflation, tariffs, and rising gas prices, the richest billionaires continue to see their net worth grow,” Jayapal said. “We live in the richest country in the world, but that wealth is incredibly concentrated in a tiny group of people.”
She said the legislation would help “tax the rich and level the playing field” while generating money for investments in “health care, schools, clean energy, housing, and more.”
Jayapal and other Democrats framed the bill as a response to widening economic inequality in the United States. Citing an analysis by economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, lawmakers said the richest 0.1 percent of Americans now hold nearly as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent of families combined.
According to supporters, the measure would affect about 260,000 households, or the wealthiest 0.15 percent of Americans.
The legislation also includes provisions aimed at preventing tax avoidance, including $100 million in additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service and a 40 percent exit tax on ultra-millionaires and billionaires who give up their U.S. citizenship to avoid paying the tax.
Warren said the proposal is intended to make the tax system more equitable.
“While multi-millionaires and billionaires are getting richer and richer, families are getting squeezed by a rigged economy. My bill is about basic fairness and making the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share. It’s time for the government to stop listening to the richest of the rich and start working for working people,” said Senator Warren.
Boyle said the current tax system favors the wealthy over workers.“A secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than the CEO,” he said.
The latest version of the bill has support from more than 45 lawmakers, including 10 senators and 39 members of the House, making it the largest coalition of congressional supporters for the proposal to date.
It has also been endorsed by nearly 40 unions, advocacy groups and national organizations, including the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU, Public Citizen and Patriotic Millionaires.
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