Jeff Bezos will be getting a hefty tax bill if Elizabeth Warren gets her way.
The Massachusetts Senator on Friday released a detailed plan for how she would pay for her Medicare for All proposal, a sweeping health care plan that her team of economists said will cost about $20 trillion over the next decade. Warren had been attacked from both the right and left for sharing few details of how it would be funded, with critics saying it seemed unlikely she could follow through on a promise not to raise taxes on the middle class.
The plan released Friday showed that Warren’s proposal would, in fact, avoid any tax hikes on the middle class, instead levying a series of new taxes on the ultra-wealthy and businesses. It would be particularly hard on Bezos, the wealthiest man in America. As The Week noted, the plan would cost the Amazon founder nearly $7 billion.
As the report noted, the ultra-wealthy would see some big tax bills, as Warren’s plan would subject billionaires to a tax of three cents on every dollar of net worth over $1 billion. The wealthiest 1 percent would also face a new annual capital gains tax.
“Joining Bezos at the top of the pile is Bill Gates, who would put in around $6.4 billion, and Warren Buffett, who’d contribute closer to $5 billion. Bezos’ company would also end up paying heftier taxes, though it won’t have to worry about providing employees with health care anymore,” The Week noted.
It would still not be too hard on Bezos, who Business Insider estimated earns about $1.5 billion per week.
Warren also said she would empower the IRS to crack down harder on tax fraud, with a focus on the highest income earners. Businesses would also make contributions to the Medicare for All plan, similar to what they give now toward private insurance for employees.
The candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination has not shied away from personally going after billionaires and the tech sector, with Warren saying that as president she would move to break up Facebook.
Warren detailed her Medicare for All plan in a Medium story, where she also put pressure on her Democratic critics, calling on them to release their own plans for health care.
Bernie Sanders has already detailed his own plans for Medicare for All, which would include higher taxes on the middle class. Sanders said they would pay much less for health care, offsetting any new taxes.
