Summary
Adds a new yearly tax on the total value of assets held by the wealthiest people and uses the money to pay for healthcare, housing, and family benefits.
What does this bill do?
Creates a new wealth tax
Places a 5% yearly tax on the net value of all assets for any person or trust with assets over $1 billion. The $1 billion threshold will be adjusted for inflation in future years.
Reference
Text:
Section:
Sec. 402, 403, 404
Header:
Medicare Dental, Hearing, and Vision Expansion
Expands Medicare to cover dental, hearing, and vision
Adds coverage for dental services (like cleanings, fillings, and dentures), hearing aids and exams, and routine eye exams and eyeglasses to Medicare Part B.
Reference
Text:
Section:
Sec. 601
Header:
Birth through five child care and early learning entitlement
Establishes an affordable child care program
Creates a new program to ensure families can get high-quality child care for children under age six. Families pay on a sliding scale, with many paying nothing and no family paying more than 7% of their income.
Reference
Text:
Section:
Sec. 703
Header:
Ensuring teachers are paid a livable and competitive wage
Sets a minimum salary for public school teachers
Provides grants to states to help them set a minimum starting salary of at least $60,000 per year for all public school teachers.
Provides affordability rebates to individuals
Creates a new tax credit called an 'affordability rebate' of $3,000 for an individual, $6,000 for a married couple, and an additional $3,000 for each dependent.
Increases funding for home and community-based care
Provides states with more federal money to improve and expand long-term care services that help people stay in their homes and communities instead of institutions.
Funds the Housing Trust Fund
Authorizes over $85 billion per year for ten years for the Housing Trust Fund, which helps build, preserve, and operate rental housing for people with very low incomes.
Increases health insurance subsidies
Makes more people eligible for premium tax credits to help pay for health insurance plans and increases the amount of the credit for those already eligible.
Requires audits of wealthy taxpayers
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to audit at least 50% of the taxpayers who are required to pay the new wealth tax each year.
Imposes a large tax on expatriates
Sets a 60% tax rate on the wealth of applicable taxpayers who give up their U.S. citizenship to avoid the tax.
Who does this affect?
- Individuals and trusts with over $1 billion in assets
- Families with children under age six
- Medicare beneficiaries
- Public school teachers
What is the real world impact?
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Funds major social programs
Creates a new, dedicated source of money to pay for large-scale social benefits, including expanding Medicare, making child care affordable, increasing teacher pay, and providing financial help to families.
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Reduces wealth inequality
Aims to narrow the gap between the very wealthy and the rest of the population by taxing large fortunes that are often not subject to yearly income taxes.
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Could face legal and practical challenges
Critics may argue that a wealth tax is unconstitutional or too difficult to enforce. Taxing assets like art or private businesses can be complex, and some worry it could cause wealthy individuals to move their money out of the country.
What problem does this solve?
Some of the wealthiest people pay a lower tax rate than many working families, while social programs that help people are often underfunded. This bill creates a new tax on extreme wealth and directs the money to programs for healthcare, child care, and other family needs.
When does this start?
The bill's different parts would start at various times after it becomes law, with most major programs beginning between 2026 and 2028.
Affordability rebates
The new affordability rebates would begin for the 2026 tax year.
Reference
Text:
Section:
Sec. 601(d)(2)
Header:
Establishment of birth through five child care and early learning entitlement program
Child care program
The new child care entitlement program would begin on October 1, 2026.
Reference
Text:
Section:
Sec. 703(a)(1)
Header:
Ensuring teachers are paid a livable and competitive wage
Teacher salary grants
Grants to states for increasing teacher salaries would be available starting in fiscal year 2027.
Medicare dental coverage
Coverage for dentures begins on January 1, 2027, with other dental services starting on January 1, 2028.
Reference
Text:
Section:
Sec. 403, 404
Header:
Providing coverage for hearing care under the Medicare program
Medicare hearing and vision coverage
Coverage for hearing services, hearing aids, vision exams, and eyeglasses begins on January 1, 2028.