$3,000 cash payments proposed for millions of Americans in new bill

Noman Sabit: Legislation introduced on Monday would impose a 5 percent annual wealth tax on America’s billionaires, generating a hefty payment for millions of families if passed.

The Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act, unveiled by Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, and Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, would raise an estimated $4.4 trillion in revenue over the next decade if signed into law. The proposal would fund extensive social spending programs, including a $3,000 direct payment to every individual in households earning $150,000 annually or less in its first year. The 938 billionaires in the United States, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, are worth an estimated $8.2 trillion, Sanders and Khanna said.

“At a time of unprecedented income and wealth inequality, this legislation demands that the billionaire class in America finally pay their fair share of taxes so that we can create an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent,” Sanders said. “We can no longer tolerate a corrupt tax code that enables billionaires to pay a lower tax rate than the average worker.” Sanders and Khanna also want to use the revenue generated by the plan to reverse $1.1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, which are estimated to cause more than 50,000 unneeded deaths, according to the lawmakers. They also want to expand Medicare coverage for dental, vision, and hearing plans, as well as to establish a $60,000 minimum salary for every teacher in public schools nationwide. “We have a deep economic divide in this country,” Khanna said. “On one side, places like Silicon Valley are generating extreme wealth. On the other side, families are struggling to cover the cost of health care, housing, and basic needs. We can tax billionaires a modest amount to make sure everyone has a fair chance while keeping our innovative engine.”

Sanders isn’t expected to run for the White House a third time, but the legislation could divide the potential field of candidates in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, who opposes a proposed wealth tax in his state.

Billionaires like Musk, whose $833 billion fortune is more than 53 percent of American households combined, would owe $42 billion in taxes under the legislation, which has extremely long odds to pass in the GOP-controlled Congress. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg would owe $11 billion in taxes from his estimated $220 billion fortune, while Bezos would need to pony up approximately $11 billion. “Enough is enough,” Sanders said. “Billionaires cannot have it all. It is time to enact a wealth tax on billionaires and use this revenue to address some of the major crises facing working families, the children, the elderly, the sick and the most vulnerable.”

Khanna, who supports California’s proposed billionaire tax, will introduce the national proposal in the House as he continues mulling his own presidential bid, The Washington Post reported. “This is Senator Sanders’ defining vision for our age,” Khanna told the publication. “It is the most ambitious and transformative legislation for our times to tackle inequality in the New Gilded Age.”

Economists at the University of California, Berkeley, estimate the legislation would ultimately generate $4.4 trillion over the next decade.

“A billionaire wealth tax is the most direct policy tool to curb the growing concentration of wealth among the billionaire class in the United States,” professors Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucma wrote in an analysis provided by Sanders. “It can also restore tax progressivity at the very top of the wealth distribution and raise needed tax revenue to fund the public good. Senator Sanders’ proposal for an annual 5% wealth tax on billionaires is a bold step in this direction.” The proposed billionaire tax in California, meanwhile, could send wealthy families scurrying to other states if voters approve the ballot initiative in November, some economists believe.

“I really worry that blue states are hurting themselves by raising taxes so much that they’re moving jobs to red states,” UC Berkeley economics professor Enrico Moretti told the San Francisco Chronicle.

A poll conducted by YouGov in January revealed that 52 percent of Americans believe wealth inequality is a “very big problem,” including 76 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of independents.In a polarized era, the center is dismissed as bland. At Newsweek, ours is different: The Courageous Center—it’s not “both sides,” it’s sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you.

When you become a Newsweek Member, you support a mission to keep the center strong and vibrant. Members enjoy: Ad-free browsing, exclusive content and editor conversations. Help keep the center courageous. Join today.

*Copyright 2026 Bangla Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

BP/SM