I was shocked to discover that, in the U.S., 55 major corporations paid nothing in federal taxes on their 2020 profits. My personal tax bill was in the thousands. The shielding of the wealthy from taxation comes largely from Trump’s successful 2017 push to reduce taxes for the rich, a move supported by Republicans.
Biden is now working to reverse that change. He’ll be successful only if the Republicans fail to thwart him. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have offered legislation that would impose a 3 percent total annual tax on wealth exceeding $1 billion and 2 percent total annual tax on wealth from $50 million to $1 billion.
None of these changes will go forward unless Democrats are able to unify all their members in support of the proposed legislation. If even one Democratic senator balks, the legislation will likely fail. My sense is that we may have to wait until after the 2022 elections. I suspect that, thanks to Trump and his supporters, the Republicans will suffer an historic defeat. Then we can move ahead on creating fair taxation in the U.S.
Tom Glenn, Writer 