Donald Trump, then considering a run for president in the Reform Party, proposed a wealth tax in 1999 that was far more extreme than 2020 Democratic primary hopeful Elizabeth Warren’s so-called “Ultra Millionaire Tax.”
Trump’s plan was a one-time 14.25% tax on a household’s net worth above $10 million, which he said would pay to wipe out the country’s $5.66 trillion national debt at the time.
Using Jeff Bezos as an example, the Amazon founder and CEO, who is worth about $110 billion right now, would have to pay a one-off tax of $15.7 billion.
“By my calculations, 1% of Americans, who control 90% of the wealth in this country, would be affected by my plan,” Trump said at the time, according to an Associated Press story that dug up his old quotes.
Trump said then that “the other 99% of the people would get deep reductions in their federal income taxes.”
The quotes come to light as a number of 2020 Democratic primary hopefuls are pushing wealth taxes on the country’s richest families, taxes that have wide support among the voting public. According to recent surveys, as much as 75% of the population supports a wealth tax.
The top 1% of Americans control 40% of the country’s wealth, while the bottom 50% control none of it.
Sen. Warren, D-Mass., who Trump recently called “Uber Left” in a recent tweet, has proposed a 2% tax on fortunes above $5o million, and a 3% tax on fortunes above $1 billion each year. Warren says her plan will net about $2.75 trillion in revenue from about 75,000 U.S. households over 10 years. Of course, it’s still not nearly enough to pay for the “Medicare for All” plan she’s pushing.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the “Democratic Socialist” of the 2020 field, has a plan that would put an effective tax rate of 97.5% on billionaire Americans, by far the most punitive tax that will cut the number of billionaires in half in less than a decade.
“It would affect more households, levy a higher marginal tax rate, and ultimately bring in more money for government coffers to help pay for some of his ambitious proposals, like Medicare for All, as well as fund other social programs,” the AP writers reported in their story.
At the time, Trump admitted his wealth tax would hit him in the wallet but said he was fine with it.
“Personally this plan would cost me hundreds of millions of dollars, but in all honesty, it’s worth it,” he said in 1999. “It is a win-win for the American people, an idea no conventional politician would have the guts to put forward.”
The AP asked whether Trump still supports such a tax, but the White House declined to comment, according to the AP. It seems highly unlikely Trump would support such a plan today after recently passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which cut taxes for most households, giving the wealthy a big break as well.