Washington state lawmakers are considering levying a 1 percent tax on "extraordinary intangible financial assets" of people whose personal wealth exceeds $1 billion. This includes assets such as cash, futures contracts, and publicly traded options — not income.
Washington Democrats have rallied around the measure as one way to help combat growing economic inequality in the state, which has only intensified during the pandemic.
"The conditions were there before the pandemic, but the pandemic has laid bare the true inequity in our tax code here in Washington state," State Rep. Noel Frame told Cheddar.
The representative said that Washington had the distinction of having the most regressive tax code in the country, with lower-income households paying disproportionately more than higher-income households. The state does not impose a personal income tax.
"I think it's egregious and out of step with our values as a state," she said.
Using confidential data from the IRS, U.S. Federal Reserve, and proprietary information from Forbes, the state estimated that the law would impact 100 taxpayers in Washington.
Among them are world-famous mega billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, MacKenzie Scott, and Steve Ballmer, who would contribute the lion's share of the tax contributions.
Based on the latest data from Forbes, the Tax Foundation found that about 97 percent would come from those four individuals, though roughly a dozen people would be liable for the tax.
"I have to tell you that number is jaw-dropping to me," Frame said. "I think we know a few of those billionaires in our state, but it turns out there are many, many more."
If passed, the levy would be imposed starting January 1, 2022, for taxes due the following year.
Frame said another goal of the bill is to help fund existing tax credits for lower-income households, including a credit against the sales tax, which she said the state is overly reliant on. She added that about 47 percent of Washington's revenue in 2020 came from the sales tax, which is generally considered more regressive than other taxes.
"When you think about somebody who has a total household income of $24,000 or less, you can imagine how quickly the sales tax on those everyday purchases will add up as a share of your household income," she said.
State lawmakers are set to let the bill "simmer" over the next few weeks, Frame said.
Zachary Petrizzo, media reporter at The Daily Beast, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss former President Trump's endorsement of Dr. Oz in the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania, and why some parts of the MAGA base are unhappy about it.
Larry Sharpe, libertarian candidate for New York governor, joins Cheddar Politics to talk about the issues motivating his campaign. The discusses his endorsement from the progressive Forward party founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, and changes that can be made to voting systems.
Cheddar Politics breaks down the seismic shift in White House rhetoric surrounding Russia's war on Ukraine. President Biden began calling the alleged war crimes committed by Russian soldiers in the Kyiv region "genocide." Foreign policy and national security analyst A. Ari Aramesh joins Cheddar News to discuss what constitutes genocide and whether the developments in Ukraine qualify.
President Joe Biden said he is considering forgiving some federal student debt, a step that would help him fulfill a campaign promise and provide relief to borrowers who took out thousands of dollars in loans to finance their higher education.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 28, 2022, with Elon Musk mocking Twitter's top legal exec Vijaya Gadde on the platform itself, a probe in George Floyd's death finding discrimination within the Minneapolis police force, the latest California drought leading to new water restrictions, and more.
Tech giant Microsoft won a military contract for the production of its IVAS (integrated visual augmentation system) combat goggles, based on its HoloLens ARG tech, worth up to $21.9 billion over 10 years. However, the Pentagon is now saying that the device "has not yet demonstrated the capability to serve as a fighting goggle," and that the Army made mistakes in the program's initial stages by not clearly describing minimum performance standards. While testing continues, concerns have grown outside of the Defense Department to Congress and even within Microsoft itself. Cheddar's Ken Buffa takes a deeper look at the possible boondoggle.
U.S. stocks fell sharply to close Tuesday's session, with the Nasdaq dropping 3.95% and hitting a new one-year low. Frances Newton Stacy, Director of Strategy for Optimal Capital, joins Cheddar News to discuss her reaction to how markets closed the session, and to break down Q3 2022 earnings from Microsoft. "Netflix was sort of the big warning, and I think Big Tech was down today in anticipation of these earnings," she says.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed into law a bill that strips Disney World of its special self-governing status. This came after Disney spoke out against Florida's so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, some saying in retaliation of that. Ben Means, Professor of Law and the John T. Campbell Chair in Business and Professional Ethics at the University of South Carolina School of Law, breaks down how the new law might impact Disney’s business moving forward.
