Pushes vast expansion

Bernie Sanders pushes vast expansion of estate tax

By HOLLY OTTERBEIN

Sen. Bernie Sanders, on the cusp of a likely campaign for president, introduced legislation Thursday to vastly expand the reach of the federal estate tax.

His bill would raise $2.2 trillion by applying the tax to the riches of "the top 0.02 percent of Americans," according to Sanders' office. It would apply to the estates of those who inherit more than $3.5 million, compared to the $11 million threshold that exists now.

For estates worth more than $1 billion, the tax rate would be 77 percent on inheritance over that amount. The first $3.5 million of any estates would be exempt from the tax.

Sanders, an independent who is expected to run for president as a Democrat, has railed against economic inequality for decades. He dubbed his bill the "For the 99.8% Act."

Republicans put forward a bill last week to eliminate the estate tax.

"At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, when the three richest Americans own more wealth than 160 million Americans, it is literally beyond belief that the Republican leadership wants to provide hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the top 0.2 percent," Sanders said in a news release. "Our bill does what the American people want by substantially increasing the estate tax on the wealthiest families in this country and dramatically reducing wealth inequality. From a moral, economic, and political perspective our nation will not thrive when so few have so much and so many have so little."

If Sanders enters the race, he will be competing with another progressive populist, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who recently revealed a plan to tax the super wealthy. Howard Schultz, the ex-Starbucks CEO who is flirting with an independent run for president, called Warren's proposal "ridiculous" and swiped at the "Medicare for all" policy pushed by Sanders.