Taxing the Rich

No matter what we look like, where we come from, or how we make a living, Vermonters are working hard to put food on their table and pay the bills to support our families. 

But today, when we’re facing historic levels of economic inequality, the richest individuals and largest corporations continue to hoard wealth, while rigging the rules to avoid paying their fair share to fund the schools, roads, and community services. 55 major corporations paid $0 in federal taxes on their 2020 profits, and billionaires routinely manage to sidestep the rules and pay little or no income tax at all. Republicans made this worse with their 2017 tax bill, which contained more than $2 trillion in giveaways to the ultrarich. 

It’s time to unrig the system that allows billionaires and corporations to pay less in tax than a public school teacher or a small business owner. We can do this: end incentives for corporations to shift their profits overseas and institute a corporate minimum tax on the largest companies. We also need to close the loopholes that allow the Top 1% to pay less in taxes on their investments than a worker pays on their wages, and make sure billionaires in particular are taxed on their income. And, we need to fund the IRS to go after wealthy tax cheats, who dodge an estimated $1 trillion in taxes every year. 

For too long, Republicans have divided and distracted us, pitting our communities against each other and allowing wealthy corporations to profit. In the State Senate, I’ll fight to strengthen and unify the movement of working families so that we can build an economy that truly works for us.