Some states are reviving a push to tax the rich

Chuck Collins, who inherited wealth from his great-grandfather Oscar Mayer’s processed meat company, has helped push for higher taxes on the ultrarich and supported a higher tax in Massachusetts on income over $1 million.

“Some states are reviving a push to tax the rich Some states are reviving a push to tax the rich PROVIDENCE, R”

Associated Press

Collins is a founding member of the group Patriotic Millionaires, which calls for higher taxes on the country’s super affluent.

Associated Press

The idea of taxing millionaires has taken hold in a handful of other blue states, including California, Maryland, Minnesota and New Jersey, and lawmakers in Washington could send the governor this week a measure that would impose an income tax on million-dollar earners.

Washington, which has not had a broad income tax since a state Supreme Court decision nearly a century ago, is debating a proposal that would create a nearly 10% annual tax on personal earnings over $1 million.

Lawmakers say the revenue would pay for free K-12 school meals, childcare services, a family tax credit and eliminate sales taxes on personal care items such as shampoo.

Associated Press

The state House adopted the proposal this week after an all-night session deliberating amendments, and it goes back to the Senate, which passed a version previously; Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson has indicated support if the Legislature can send it to him before it adjourns Thursday.

Supporters point to measures already enacted or proposed in other states: California advocates are working on a ballot measure to place a one-time 5% tax on the assets of those with a $1 billion net worth to backfill federal funding cuts to health services for lower-income people signed by President Donald Trump last year.

“Some states are reviving a push to tax the rich Some states are reviving a push to tax the rich PROVIDENCE, R”

Associated Press

Rhode Island legislators are debating a budget proposal backed by Gov. Dan McKee to enact higher taxes on residents earning $1 million or more.

In Michigan, organizers are collecting signatures for a November ballot initiative that would place an additional 5% tax on those who make over $500,000 individually or $1 million for joint filers to help fund K-12 schools.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has renewed his push for New York state to raise taxes on the rich despite opposition from Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has called for similar measures though the Illinois Statehouse has not moved on a millionaire tax.

Critics warn that taxes on the wealthy can drive away businesses and are not a comprehensive solution to state revenue problems, and some conservative-led states have moved to abolish or cut personal income taxes.

Jared Walczak of the Tax Foundation said critics see the California wealth tax as language about reducing excessive wealth rather than purely raising revenue.

Associated Press

Eight states have no income tax at all, and observers say the gap between states seeking tax relief and those seeking higher taxes is larger than it has been for decades.

Supporters point to Massachusetts, where voters approved the Fair Share Amendment in 2022 adding a 4% surtax on income over $1 million (with the threshold rising annually for inflation) and which the state says has collected $6 billion for education and transportation, and advocates like Collins say it is important in a time of “grotesque inequality.”