Wyden Floor Statement on Billionaires Income Tax and Restoring Fairness to the Tax Code

Press Release

"I come to the floor today to discuss three words: 'buy, borrow, die.'

Three little words that allow billionaires across America to legally get away with paying little or nothing in taxes for years on end.

Here's how it works: A billionaire buys a business, and then borrows against its growing, untaxed value to fund their extravagant lifestyle. Everything from superyachts, to luxurious vacations, expensive art deals, you name it. It goes up and up in value all while not paying a dime in tax. And when they die, their assets are passed to their kids -- often entirely tax-free -- and the cycle continues.

Now let's contrast 'buy, borrow, die' against the tax system required for everyone else…

A nurse or a firefighter living in Philomath, Oregon are required to pay taxes out of every paycheck. Working people don't get to play by the same rules as billionaires. They don't get to call up an army of high-priced lawyers and accountants every time they don't feel like paying their taxes.

Right now, the average billionaire can wriggle their way into a measly 8 percent tax rate while a nurse or firefighter making $45,000 is paying a 22 percent tax on their wages.

Here's the real gut punch: under current tax law 'buy, borrow, die' is perfectly legal. Pretty sickening reality. Tax laws simply don't apply to billionaires in the same way they do to everybody else. They're optional, while everybody else's tax rules are mandatory.

How is that fair? Americans overwhelmingly believe it's not. So it's time to look to solutions that restore fairness to the tax code while still rewarding success. After all, that's what our country is founded on: the idea that everyone has a chance to get ahead.

Luckily, there's a solution that achieves both fairness and economic growth. Today, I -- and 14 other senators -- are introducing the first comprehensive Billionaires Income Tax to end "buy, borrow, die." This will put a stop to one of the most common schemes billionaires use to avoid paying their fair share.

And here's the kicker: there's a way to implement our bill already in the tax code known as mark-to-market. For you tax wonks, mark to market is in section 475, 877A, 1256, and 1296 of the tax code.

That means there is a blueprint right in front of us to use as a model for taxing billionaires fairly. Put simply: mark-to-market under Billionaires Income Tax would require billionaires to pay tax every year, just like everyone else.

It's time to close these loopholes and make sure those at the very top are paying taxes on their income as it's earned, and my Billionaires Income Tax is the way to do it.

This Congress, my staff on the Senate Finance Committee and I have investigated a number of tax schemes that the very wealthy -- with the help of armies of high-priced tax lawyers and accountants -- use to pay virtually no federal tax for years on end.

We've investigated crooked Swiss bankers hiding Americans' income; $34 billion in unpaid taxes from millionaires who never even filed a tax return; tax dodging schemes between Leon Black and Jeffrey Epstein; and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's wealthy buddy secretly forgiving a massive, private loan. Billionaires looking to dodge their taxes are thriving under our country's current tax laws.

We want everyone in America to be able to get ahead, but right now the decks are stacked against working families. Unfortunately, the flawed tax policies that billionaires take advantage of promote wealth building in the hands of the fortunate few. This leaves so many behind. Over one-third of families in America don't have the cash on hand to pay for a $400 emergency if they had to.

Meanwhile, during the pandemic when families were forced to make tough choices between paying rent and buying groceries, billionaires increased their wealth by over one trillion dollars.

Our country is staring down the barrel of a Medicare solvency crisis. Seniors are at risk of losing the Medicare guarantee unless we find a way to pay for it.

If Medicare becomes financially insolvent, seniors and Americans who counted on having those guaranteed health benefits in old age need look no further than billionaire tax cheats and their Republican allies who refused to make them pay their fair share.

The Billionaires Income Tax is the centerpiece of this effort. It would raise an estimated $557 billion over ten years. If the ultra-wealthy started paying their fair share under my Billionaires Income Tax proposal, Medicare would be financially sound, and we could protect the Medicare guarantee for millions of Americans.

Bottom line: it's time to throw out business as usual here.

I'll close with this: this legislation is not a strike against success, it is an advance on fairness. There is growing support and demand for solutions that restore fairness to the tax code and level the playing field for working families.

You can only have a successful economy if you have a tax code that treats everyone fairly.

It's past time to close the gap between those at the top, and everyone else, and my Billionaires Income Tax is the way to make it happen."

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