Sanders joins millionaires’ call for G20 nations to tax ultrarich

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday joined a group of millionaires in their call for Group of 20 (G20) nations to tax the ultrarich. 

In an open letter to G20 heads of state, Sanders, along with more than 300 millionaires, economists and politicians, called on the world’s largest economies to enact new tax regimes — at both national and international levels — that will prevent the “ultra-rich” from being able to “avoid paying their dues.” 

“Decades of falling taxes on the richest, based on the false promise that the wealth at the top would somehow benefit us all, has contributed to the rise in extreme inequality,” the letter says. 

The group argued ultrawealthy individuals are able to benefit from tax shelters and enjoy preferential tax rates that are unavailable to “ordinary people.”

The letter, organized by the Patriotic Millionaires, a nonpartisan organization of Americans with high net worth who advocate for a restructuring of the American tax system, comes days before the G20 summit in New Delhi, India. 

The letter claims public polls in all G20 countries demonstrate an “overwhelming support” for political action to curb inequality and increase taxation on extreme wealth.

Pointing to the 2021 G20 summit, where members endorsed the establishment of a minimum tax for multinational corporations, the letter pushed for a similar collective agreement on raising taxes for the richest individuals. 

Sanders, a progressive, has long advocated for hitting the rich with higher taxes and taking on the billionaire class. 

Other signatories of the letter included Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Disney heiress and philanthropist Abigail Disney and several former and current European parliamentarians and world economists.