Taxes and Budget

Taxes on very large fortunes

54 public statements from 2026 candidates

§1The range of views

Why this matters: It decides how much the richest households pay in taxes, and how much money the government raises from them.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

Whether to tax the wealth of the richest households directly, such as an annual tax on net worth or a minimum tax that counts gains on unsold stock as income.

  1. No tax on wealth or on gains from assets that haven't been sold
  2. A minimum tax on the very wealthy that counts unsold gains as income
  3. A yearly tax on net worth above a high threshold (such as $50 million)

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

No tax on wealth or on gains from assets that haven't been sold (2)

  • Ritesh Tandon CA-17
    His campaign website says he opposes a proposed California billionaire wealth tax that he says risks driving investment and job creators out of the state, and favors spending discipline instead of new wealth taxes.1
  • Sarah Zabel ID-1
    Her fiscal stewardship plan says she opposes annual wealth taxes, other than estate and gift taxes, and taxes on unrealized capital gains.2

A minimum tax on the very wealthy that counts unsold gains as income (2)

  • Sarah McBride DE-AL
    Her campaign website says she backs the Billionaires Income Tax Act, which would require billionaires to pay taxes on the growth of their publicly traded assets.3
  • Mike Sell FL-4
    His campaign's platform supports a billionaire minimum income tax under which people with $100 million or more in assets would pay at least 20% a year.4

A yearly tax on net worth above a high threshold (such as $50 million) (16)

  • Lee McInnis AL-3
    His campaign website says the ultra-rich do not pay their fair share of taxes, and lists among his goals a wealth tax so that billionaires and large corporations share the tax burden, with the money going to relief for small business owners and the social safety net.5,6
  • Connie Chan CA-11
    Her campaign website says she would cosponsor bills creating an annual wealth tax of 2% on fortunes between $50 million and $1 billion and higher rates on billionaires.7
  • Ro Khanna CA-17
    His campaign website says he proposed a national tax on billionaires' wealth with Senator Sanders, lists a wealth tax on assets over $50 million among ways to pay for Medicare for All, and says he supports the proposed one-time 5% tax on the wealth of California billionaires.8
  • Angela Gonzales-Torres CA-34
    Her campaign website says she supports a federal wealth tax on the ultra-rich, including the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act.9
  • Melat Kiros CO-1
    Her platform supports an Ultra-Millionaire Tax on net worth above $50 million, which its glossary describes as a 2% yearly tax with an extra 1% above $1 billion.10
  • Angie Nixon FL Senate special
    Her campaign website says she supports a 5% yearly tax on the part of a person's net worth above $1 billion.11
  • Robert People FL-15
    His affordability plan says he would support and vote for legislation that creates an annual wealth tax of 5% on billionaires.12
  • Daniel Biss IL-9
    His campaign website says he will implement a modest wealth tax on the assets of billionaires and ultra-millionaires.13
  • John "Drew" Williams KY-1
    His campaign website proposes a Wealth Accountability Act that would apply an annual 0.5% tax to net worth above $100 million, excluding retirement accounts and family homes, and a tax on investment growth above $15 million in assets that are not taxed.14
  • Joe Tache MA Senate
    His campaign website says he proposes a 100% tax on all assets above $10 million, along with converting the 100 largest corporations to public property.15
  • Zebulon Featherly MI-1
    His campaign website says he supports a 5 percent annual tax on net wealth above $1 billion, to address concentrations of extreme wealth.16,17
  • Abdul El-Sayed MI Senate
    His campaign website says he supports a billionaire tax on wealth over $1 billion.18
  • Zack Mullock NJ-2
    It proposes a yearly tax on the net worth of America's wealthiest households, while protecting small businesses, family farms and retirement savings.19
  • Analilia Mejia NJ-11
    Her campaign issues page says she supports Senator Elizabeth Warren's Ultra-Millionaires' Tax, which applies to fortunes above $50 million, and a minimum tax requiring billionaires to pay at least 25% of their total income, counting gains on assets not yet sold.20
  • Chris Henry OR Senate
    His platform calls for a progressive wealth tax, ending stepped-up basis and closing offshore tax shelters.21
  • Dean Roy VT Governor
    His campaign website says he supports a wealth tax and capping personal net worth in Vermont at $1 billion to reduce the income gap.22

Statements that don't match one option (34)

  • Mai Vang CA-7
    Her campaign website says she will vote to raise taxes on billionaires and close corporate tax loopholes.23
  • Aisha Wahab CA-14
    Under a heading on a wealth tax, her campaign website says billionaires should pay their fair share in taxes and loopholes should be closed.24
  • Sam Liccardo CA-16
    His campaign website says a wealth tax is a bad idea because assets are hard to value, and proposes instead reversing the most regressive parts of the 2017 tax law, such as the large estate tax exemption.25
  • Randy Villegas CA-22
    His campaign website says the top 1% of wealth holders should pay more in taxes.26
  • Angélica María Dueñas CA-29
    Her campaign website says loans backed by stock should be taxed as income, while saying unrealized capital gains should not be taxed.27,28
  • Luke Bronin CT-1
    His campaign website says he would increase the estate tax, end dynastic trusts, make the capital gains tax more progressive and close loopholes that let wealthy families avoid taxes by borrowing against their assets and passing investments to heirs without paying capital gains tax.29
  • Kelly Kirschner FL-16
    His campaign website says he would eliminate tax provisions that it says let billionaires pay less than working families.30,31
  • Nicole Locklin FL-26
    Her campaign website says she will work to tax extreme wealth, to have large corporations pay what they owe, and to give working- and middle-class families tax relief.32
  • Carlos A. Gimenez FL-28
    His official House website says he opposes an annual wealth tax.33
  • Caitlyn Gegen GA-9
    Her campaign website says a group it calls the Epstein Class needs to pay its fair share in taxes, and that the extra funds could pay for social programs, and says she will fight to redistribute wealth in the country the right way.34
  • Jasmine Clark GA-13
    Her campaign website’s agenda lists making billionaires and corporations pay their fair share among her priorities.35
  • Emre Houser ID-2
    His platform page says to end tax loopholes and enforce tax laws, including ending the buy, borrow, die system that it says lets the ultra wealthy avoid paying taxes.36
  • Tripp Charles Hutchinson ID-2
    His platform page lists a minimum tax for billionaires among his commitments.37
  • Mikel Wein KY-5
    His campaign website lists the OLIGARCH Act of 2025, which it says would tax the wealth of the ultra-rich and billionaires, among the pending legislation on its Wealth page, and lists supporting legislation to tax capital gains as income among its longer-term actions.38
  • Pete Lynch KY-6
    His campaign website says he supports taxing billionaires 10% of net worth above $1 billion and counting capital gains as income.39
  • Lauren Jewett LA-1
    Her campaign website says she will enact wealth taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations.40
  • "Matt" Gromlich LA-4
    His campaign website lists the Billionaires Income Tax Act, which it says eliminates tax loopholes that let billionaires defer tax indefinitely so that they pay taxes annually, among legislation he will support on day one.41
  • Edward J. Markey MA Senate
    His campaign website says the ultra-wealthy should pay their fair share and lists him as an original cosponsor of the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act of 2026 and the Billionaires Income Tax Act.42
  • Jake Auchincloss MA-4
    His campaign website says closing tax preferences such as the Buy-Borrow-Die loophole for billionaires will raise tax revenue.43
  • Callie Barr MI-1
    Her campaign website says she wants to end tax loopholes that favor the very wealthy, and its priorities page gives as an example a rule that it says lets heirs avoid tax on gains built up during the deceased person's lifetime.44
  • William Lawrence MI-7
    His campaign website says he supports a billionaire minimum tax, which it describes as a minimum wealth tax rate that the very wealthy must pay.45
  • Matt Little MN-2
    His campaign website says he supports a tax on the ultrawealthy.46,47
  • Ilhan Omar MN-5
    The economy page also calls for strengthening the estate tax to limit how much wealth the richest families can build up across generations.48
  • Michelle Fischbach MN-7
    Her page on the Death Tax Repeal Act, which she has co-sponsored, says the bill would permanently do away with both the estate tax and the generation-skipping transfer tax, which it says weigh on family farms, ranches and small businesses handed down to heirs.49,50
  • Missi Hesketh MO-7
    Her Affordability page says she would tax carried interest as ordinary income and set a minimum tax that billionaires would pay.51
  • Alani Bankhead MT Senate
    Her campaign website calls for making a wealth tax stick by funding IRS audits of the wealthiest, requiring independent valuations of hard-to-value assets and closing the exit for people who give up citizenship to avoid it.52
  • Sam Forstag MT-1
    His campaign website says he would create a 5% tax on fortunes over $1 billion, which it calls the Billionaire Tax, and says it would raise revenue for public services without adding to the debt.53
  • Valerie P. Foushee NC-4
    Her campaign website says she supports a 25 percent minimum tax rate on households with a net worth above $100 million.54
  • Ashley Bell NC-10
    Her campaign website's FreeAgents page says she supports changes to the tax structure, including taxes on extreme wealth and closing tax loopholes.55
  • Justin Murphy NJ Senate
    His campaign website says he would abolish the capital gains tax, estate taxes and the alternative minimum tax.56
  • Adam Hamawy NJ-12
    His campaign website says he will fight to tax wealth, not only income, and use the revenue for health care, education, housing and care programs.57
  • Winston Jordan NJ-12
    His policy platform website proposes a $50 billion wealth cap on individuals and taxation of wealth above $50 billion to pay for infrastructure and other programs.58
  • James Talarico TX Senate
    His campaign website says billionaires should pay higher taxes on their income and capital gains, and it calls for closing loopholes that let them build up wealth that is never taxed.59
  • Rachel Fetty Anderson WV Senate
    Her campaign website says she supports closing the tax loophole known as buy, borrow, die.60