As someone whose job that allows me to see the taxes of people who make $400,000 a year and people who have more than $10 million (!) I want to point out a few tax things /1

Somebody making $400k has a crazy amount money and is almost top 1%. But what they usually still have in common with the 99%:
-they work and have jobs
-taxes take a significant bite out of their paycheck
-they couldn’t pay their mortgage or student loans if they lost their job
/2

Somebody who has $10 million or more:
-does not work or have a job, they live off investments
-pays 10% or less in taxes, no payroll taxes
-does not worry about paying a mortgage or student loans
/3

We need to tax the rich, but when I look at the current tax system, the taxes on workers making $400,000+ a year are fair. These people are doctors, lawyers, business owners, etc. They pay high income taxes. They pay more to Treasury, as a percentage, than anyone else.
/4

So when we talk about taxing the rich, we need to stop talking about taxing people based on making more than $400,000 a year.

That is the wrong conversation.

Really, really rich people? They don’t work for money. They have net worth.
/5

So talk about taxing “billionaires” or “ultra wealthy” or use their names.

Tax Jeff Bezos. Mitt Romney. Bill Gates. Mitch McConnell. Betsy DeVos.

We don’t need to tax the rich. We already do that. We need to tax the MEGA RICH.
/6

If you made your money in a job, you got taxed enough. Maybe more than enough. Whether you made $14,000 or $400,000, you get a W2 showing a good amount of taxes paid.

Way more than $750 tax paid.
/7

If you really want to tax the rich, don’t fall into the trap of arguing over how much taxes a person making $400,000 should pay. If they paid $100,000 last year, we aren’t solving any budget deficits by making them pay $105,000. Or even $200,000.

Wrong conversation.

/8

Stop thinking of people who have to go to their job everyday as rich. They may have more money, drive a lot he, have a mansion, but they are still paying mortgages, student loans, and credit cards.

I know, I see their finances.
/9

You know who doesn’t have a job? The great-grandchild of one of those family names you might recognize. He doesn’t have a mortgage. He doesn’t have student loans. He gets $10,000 a month from the trust fund. He pays $5,000 in tax a year.

I know. I see their finances.
/10

Liz Warren had it right when she proposed a wealth tax for the mega wealthy. Quit letting them pay so little in taxes.

Don’t get distracted. We tax the rich by taxing Jeff Bezos more. We solve nothing by making your anesthesiologist pay another 10%. #TaxTheMegaRich
/end

Would you be rich if you had a net worth of a million dollars? Yes, you would be. But for every $1 you had, Jeff Bezos would have $200,000.

Jeff Bezos could lose $1 million dollars 199,999 times and still have more money than a millionaire. Check this graphic: https://twitter.com/jschnatterer/status/1315747274300051457