As the cost of housing, child care, health care and education continues to climb, a growing movement across the United States is calling for higher taxes on billionaires and the ultra-wealthy as a way to help ease the financial pressure on working families.
Once considered a fringe political idea, proposals to tax extreme wealth are increasingly showing up in state legislatures, ballot initiatives and public demonstrations. Supporters argue that while the economy has produced enormous wealth in recent decades, much of it has flowed to the very top — leaving many workers struggling to afford basic necessities.
Across the country, lawmakers and advocacy groups have introduced more than 100 state-level bills aimed at increasing taxes on high incomes, large fortunes or corporate windfall profits. The proposals are part of what advocates call a “Real Affordability Agenda,” a set of policy ideas designed to fund public services such as affordable housing, healthcare, groceries and household essentials, energy, schools, transportation, and child care.
Some proposals focus not only on wealthy individuals but also on large corporate profits. Advocates argue that many companies have reported strong profits in recent years even as workers face rising housing, food and health-care costs. Because much of those profits ultimately flow to wealthy shareholders and executives, supporters say taxing windfall corporate profits is another way to redirect some of that wealth toward public investments that benefit workers and communities.
At the heart of the argument is a simple claim often repeated by labor groups and economic justice advocates: that workers help create the wealth in the economy but receive a shrinking share of its benefits.
Some organizers describe the goal as “retrieving the wealth that working people created” and reinvesting it in public programs that lower the cost of living.
“Affordability is about dignity — the dignity of knowing that if you work hard, you can care for your family and build a stable life,” said Care Economy Task Force Chair Sarah McBride.
A Test Case in Massachusetts
One of the most closely watched examples of this approach comes from Massachusetts.
In 2022, voters approved the Fair Share Amendment, which created a 4% surtax on annual income above $1 million. The tax applies only to income earned above that threshold and affects a relatively small percentage of the state’s highest earners.
Despite impacting only a small share of taxpayers, the measure has generated billions of dollars in new revenue for the state. Under the amendment, the money must be used for education and transportation investments.
Lawmakers have already directed the funds toward programs including free school meals for public school students, expanded financial aid for college students, tuition-free community college programs for many adult learners, child-care workforce support and improvements to public transportation systems.
Supporters say the results demonstrate how targeted taxes on very high incomes can generate substantial revenue without affecting most residents.
Why Wealth Is Taxed Differently
Part of the debate centers on how the wealthiest Americans accumulate and use money.
Most workers pay taxes directly on wages. Billionaires, however, often build wealth through investments such as stocks, real estate or business ownership.
Under current tax rules, gains on those assets typically are not taxed until they are sold. Some wealthy investors also use a strategy often described by tax experts as “buy, borrow, die.”
The idea is simple: buy assets that increase in value, borrow money against those assets rather than selling them, and pass the assets to heirs when you die. Because loans are not considered income, borrowing against assets can allow wealthy individuals to access large sums of money without triggering income taxes.
Advocates for higher taxes on the wealthy say this system allows enormous fortunes to grow with relatively little taxation compared with wages earned by workers.
Critics argue that changing the system could discourage investment, slow economic growth or encourage wealthy individuals to move assets or residency to lower-tax states.
Some economists also warn that very high tax rates can increase tax avoidance and may not always generate the expected revenue.
Growing Public Support
Public opinion appears to be shifting as concerns about inequality and rising costs grow.
A recent survey national survey found Kansans’ most popular proposed new tax was a “Billionaires Tax.” The survey also found strong support for taxes on corporate windfall profits and price gouging during economic disruptions.
Respondents cited rising prices, wealth inequality and housing affordability as major issues they believe new tax policies should address.
A Movement Linked to Labor
The push to tax extreme wealth has increasingly become tied to a broader labor movement focused on rising costs and economic inequality.
Labor leaders argue that while productivity and corporate profits have grown significantly over time, wages for many workers have not kept pace. That gap, they say, helps explain why both billionaire wealth and large corporate profits have become targets in the growing campaign to tax the ultra-wealthy and redirect revenue toward public services.
Although the United States officially celebrates Labor Day in September, May 1 — known internationally as May Day — has long been associated with the global labor movement and campaigns for workers’ rights. For that reason, organizers have chosen May Day for their “May Day Strong” demonstration, which they describe as a planned nationwide day of disruption.
Participants are being encouraged to take part in “No Work. No School. No Shopping.” The action is intended to demonstrate the collective economic power of workers and consumers by temporarily withdrawing labor and spending.
Organizers say the effort is part of a growing worker movement and an attempt to create one of the largest May Day mobilizations in recent years, highlighting the role workers play in an economy they believe increasingly benefits billionaires and large corporations.
A Debate That Is Intensifying
Whether through new state tax proposals or demonstrations planned for May Day, the movement to tax the ultra-wealthy is gaining visibility across the country. Supporters say it could help fund the services working families rely on, while critics warn higher taxes could discourage investment. Either way, the debate over who should bear the cost of addressing the nation’s affordability crisis is moving quickly from the political margins into the mainstream
