London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Feb 22, 2026

Can the super-rich solve America's budget problem?

Can the super-rich solve America's budget problem?

A nonagenarian, a father of seven and a high-profile divorcee are among the Americans who would face a new minimum tax under a proposal in US President Joe Biden's budget plan.

The proposal aims to capture more of the wealth created by the soaring stock market of the last few years.

It targets the roughly 20,000 taxpayers in the US worth more than $100m (£76m).

Investor Warren Buffett, Tesla boss Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos would be among those affected.

Under the proposal, America's 0.01% richest would face a minimum 20% tax on income. Crucially, it changes rules on calculating income to include gains from stocks, even if they were not sold by the investor being taxed.

"This approach means that the very wealthiest Americans pay taxes as they go, just like everyone else, and eliminates the inefficient sheltering of income for decades or generations," the White House said.

The idea is the latest in a long list of efforts to raise taxes on the super-rich and faces long odds in Washington - not to mention opposition among the class it proposes to target.

There are about 20,600 people worth more than $100m in the US, according to estimates by the Boston Consulting Group.

The White House said more than half the $360bn raised from the measure over 10 years would come from the country's roughly 700 billionaires.

"Eventually they run out of other people's money and then they come for you," Tesla boss and world's richest man Elon Musk wrote on Twitter last year about a similar proposal.

Under Mr Biden's proposal, Mr Musk - a father of seven who boasts a net worth of more than $280bn - would have to pay $50bn more in taxes over 10 years than under the current system, according to analysis by Gabriel Zucman, an economist at the University of California-Berkeley.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos would face an extra $35bn bill, while Warren Buffett would be on the hook for $26bn.

"This is big," Prof Zucman, who has studied billionaire wealth and helped design a wealth tax proposal for left-wing Senator Elizabeth Warren, wrote on Twitter.

Mr Biden's budget also calls for raising the income tax rate on households earning over $400,000 from 37% to 39.6% and increasing the tax on companies to 28%, partially reversing cuts made under the Trump administration.

He would also make other reforms to the system for taxing the gains in value from stocks and property, which would apply beyond the richest Americans.

Together the reforms and others in the budget would help reduce the deficit by $1tn over the next decade, according to the White House.

For the 2022 financial year, the annual deficit is projected at more than $1.2tn. Overall debt passed $30tn last month.

Mr Biden has long called for many of the tax changes in this year's budget to little avail.

In Congress, other proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy have met with little success.

Fellow Democrat Joe Manchin, of West Virginia - one of the key of members of Mr Biden's party who has blocked his wider agenda - last year said that a similar proposal from Senator Ron Wyden was too complicated and he didn't "like the connotation that we're targeting different people".

Other Democrats have expressed concerns about other similar proposals' workability and ability to withstand legal challenge.

In a briefing for reporters on Monday, Treasury officials said the goal was to advance the discussions in Washington about how to ensure the rich paid their fair share.

America's 400 richest families have more wealth than all 10 million of the country's black families combined, according to a 2020 analysis by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Government Weighs Removing Prince Andrew from Line of Succession After Arrest
Prince Andrew’s Arrest in UK Rekindles Scrutiny Over US Handling of Epstein Records
Trump’s Strategic Warning to UK Over Chagos Islands Deal Sparks Diplomatic Whiplash
Starmer Government Postpones Local Elections Affecting 4.5 Million Voters
UK Economy Remains Fragile Despite Recent Upturn in Headline Indicators
UK Businesses Face Fresh Uncertainty Following US Tariff Ruling
Reform UK’s Senior Figures Face Scrutiny Over Remarks on Women and Family Policy
UK Electric Vehicle Drive Threatened by Shortage of 44,000 Qualified Technicians
University of Kentucky Trustees Advance Academic Reforms and Approve Coliseum Plaza Purchase
Boris Johnson Calls for Immediate Deployment of UK Troops to Support Ukraine
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praises the rapid progress of Chinese tech companies.
North Korea's capital experiences a significant construction boom with the development of a new city district dubbed 'Pyonghattan'.
New electric vehicle charging service eliminates waiting times
Vox Populi confronts Justin Trudeau at Davos over vaccination policies
Poland's President Karol Nawrocki ENDS support for Ukrainian citizens:
The mayor of Rotherham in Britain
One day after ex-Prince Andrew's arrest, British police are searching his former home, while U.K. lawmakers will consider introducing legislation to remove him from the line of royal succession
Vandana Shiva reminding the world that Bill Gates did not invent anything.
Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni highlights record employment and economic growth
UK Confirms Preferential U.S. Trading Terms Will Continue After Supreme Court Tariff Ruling
U.S. and U.K. to Hold Talks on Diego Garcia as Iran Objects to Potential Military Use
UK Officials Weigh Possible Changes to Prince Andrew’s Position in Line of Succession Amid Ongoing Scrutiny
British Police Probe Epstein’s UK Airport Links and Expand High-Profile Inquiries
The Impact of U.S. Sanctions on Cuba's Humanitarian Crisis: A Tightening Noose
Trump Directs Government to Release UFO and Alien Information
Trump Signs Global 10% Tariffs on Imports
United Kingdom Denies U.S. Access to Military Base for Potential Iran Strike
British Co-founder of ASOS falls to his death from Pattaya apartment
Early 2026 Data Suggests Tentative Recovery for UK Businesses and Households
UK Introduces Digital-First Passport Rules for Dual Citizens in Border Control Overhaul
Unable to Access Live Financial Data for January UK Surplus Report
UK Government Considers Law to Remove Prince Andrew from Royal Line of Succession
UK ‘Working Closely with US’ to Assess Impact of Supreme Court Tariff Ruling
Trump Criticises UK Decision to Restrict Use of Bases in Potential Iran Strike Scenario
UK Foreign Secretary and U.S. State Chief Hold Strategic Talks as Tensions Rise Over Joint Air Base
Two teens arrested in France for alleged terror plot.
Nordic Fracture: How Criminal Scandals and Toxic Ties are Dismantling the Norwegian Crown
US Supreme Court Voids Trump’s Emergency Tariff Plan, Reshaping Trade Power and Fiscal Risk
King Charles III Opens London Fashion Week as Royal Family Faces Fresh Scrutiny
Trump’s Evolving Stance on UK Chagos Islands Deal Draws Renewed Scrutiny
House Democrat Says Former UK Ambassador Unable to Testify in Congressional Epstein Inquiry
No Record of Prince Andrew Arrest in UK as Claims Circulate Online
UK Has Not Granted US Approval to Launch Iran Strikes from RAF Bases, Government Confirms
AI Pricing Pressure Mounts as Chinese Models Undercut US Rivals and Margin Risks Grow
Global Counsel, Advisory Firm Co-Founded by Lord Mandelson, Enters Administration After Client Exodus
London High Court dispute over Ricardo Salinas’s $400mn Elektra share-backed bitcoin loan
UK Intensifies Efforts to Secure Saudi Investment in Next-Generation Fighter Jet Programme
Former Student Files Civil Claim Against UK Authorities After Rape Charges Against Peers Are Dropped
Archer Aviation Chooses Bristol for New UK Engineering Hub to Drive Electric Air Taxi Expansion
UK Sees Surge in Medical Device Testing as Government Pushes Global Competitiveness
×