Sen. Elizabeth Warren and more than four dozen Democratic lawmakers are renewing their push for a federal wealth tax aimed at ultra-high-net-worth households, reintroducing legislation that would apply annual levies to fortunes above $50 million.
The proposal, the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act of 2026, would impose a 2% annual tax on the net worth of households and trusts over $50 million, plus an additional 1% surtax on net worth above $1 billion, for a 3% top rate on billionaire wealth.
The bill also includes a proposed 40% “exit tax” on people worth more than $50 million who renounce US citizenship, along with new IRS funding and other enforcement measures.
An analysis by University of California, Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman estimates the tax would raise $6.2 trillion over the next decade. Warren’s office said that estimate is more than double the projected revenue when similar legislation was introduced in March 2021, reflecting how the richest American households' fortunes have swelled as markets climbed.
“While multi-millionaires and billionaires are getting richer and richer, families are getting squeezed by a rigged economy,” Warren said in a statement on Thursday. “My bill is about basic fairness and making the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share.”
For RIAs and wealth teams serving families near or above the thresholds, the proposal highlights a planning issue that is familiar at the state and local level but far less common at the federal level: a recurring tax tied to net worth, not realized income.
In practice, a net-worth levy can pull in assets that are typically managed for long-term compounding and tax efficiency, including concentrated stock positions, private business interests, real estate, and other less-liquid holdings. That raises questions advisors often end up quarterbacking even before any law changes: how wealth would be valued, how often valuations would be required, and how clients might source liquidity to cover annual liabilities without unwanted sales.
The bill’s anti-evasion provisions are also likely to draw attention from advisors and their clients, particularly around cross-border planning, residency questions, and the proposed “exit tax” for those renouncing citizenship.
Warren, the vocal Democrat from Massachusetts who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, reintroduced the bill alongside Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania. The legislation has 10 Democratic co-sponsors in the Senate and 39 in the House, which supporters described as the largest coalition backing the proposal so far.
Boyle, in a statement to CBS News, framed the measure as a response to perceived inequities in the current system: “A secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than the CEO. The current tax code is rigged against working people and the middle class.”
Still, the path through Congress remains uncertain. CBS News noted the bill is unlikely to pass given the partisan divide, echoing the fate of earlier versions that stalled without a vote amid opposition from Republicans and resistance from some more centrist Democrats.
Warren’s renewed push also lands amid a broader burst of proposals targeting the ultra-wealthy. A Barron’s report pointed to Sen. Edward Markey’s Equal Tax Act, which would raise capital gains taxes for people with incomes above $1 million and would eliminate “stepped-up basis” on inherited assets. Other Democrats, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, have also advanced separate wealth-tax frameworks with different rates and structures.
At the state level, wealth and high-income tax debates have been moving faster than Congress. Among those making recent headlines are Massachusetts’ 2023 law applying a 4% tax on income over $1 million, and a billionaire tax proposal set for a vote in California later this year.
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