Sanders Adds Co-Sponsors to Billionaire Wealth Tax Bill Proposing $3,000 Direct Payments

The wealth tax would affect a very small number of business owners whose total net assets exceed $1 billion. For those affected, the 5% annual tax on net wealth would be a significant new obligation. The bill also requires reporting of privately held business values, creating new compliance burdens for businesses with billionaire owners. However, most small business owners would be unaffected.

Medicare would be expanded to cover dental, hearing, and vision services for the first time. This means seniors could get dental cleanings, fillings, dentures, hearing aids, eye exams, and eyeglasses through Medicare, filling major gaps in coverage that currently force millions to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket or go without care. Dental coverage phases in starting 2027-2028 with premium impacts cushioned through 2031.

The bill provides affordability rebates of $3,000 per individual ($6,000 for joint filers) plus $3,000 per dependent. For a family of four, this could mean $12,000 in direct payments. While structured differently from the traditional child tax credit, the per-dependent payment effectively functions as a major boost for families with children.

Public school students benefit from the $60,000 minimum teacher salary provision, which aims to attract and retain more qualified teachers. Research consistently shows teacher quality is the most important in-school factor affecting student outcomes. The bill also funds child care for children under 6, improving early childhood education access.

The bill permanently removes the 400% of poverty line income cap for premium tax credits, meaning people at any income level could receive subsidies for marketplace insurance. It also sets more generous subsidy percentages, with households below 150% of poverty paying nothing and those above 400% capped at 8.5% of income. This would substantially lower costs for millions currently buying ACA plans.