Tax on Extreme Wealth Held by the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee

Assemblymember Alex Lee released the following statement after the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee decided to hold his proposed wealth tax, AB 259. 

“California has one of the highest rates of people living paycheck to paycheck while also having more billionaires than any other state and country, except for China. 99.9% of people would not be impacted by the Wealth Tax, yet it could generate over $20 billion in revenue for our schools, roads, and essential services. 

Mega millionaires and billionaires need to pay their proportionate share of taxes. The average person’s true federal tax rate is about 14%, while the wealthiest 25 people in the U.S. have a true tax rate of 3.4%.

The wealth tax is a common sense proposal that’s a drop in the bucket for the ultra-rich. It would affect less than 0.1% of people — those who enjoy the most extreme wealth in our society. Despite the outcome of AB 259, I’m committed to creating a more equitable system, and protecting our working class families.”