Most wealthy Americans are showing support for President Joe Biden’s plan to raise taxes on the wealthy, and they are even more eager than his administration to tax the world’s ultra-rich, a new poll shows.
A YouGov poll of Americans with assets of more than $1 million, excluding their homes, found that nearly 60% favor increasing marginal taxes on top earners to $100 million above the current rate of 37%, according to the Financial Times.
The poll also shows that 62% of American millionaires support global efforts to prevent billionaires from fleeing countries with higher taxes.
Additionally, 59% favor a proposal to force the world’s billionaires to pay taxes worth at least 2% of their overall wealth each year. It’s an idea that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen opposes in its current form.
“We believe in progressive taxation. But the idea of a common global arrangement to tax billionaires with income redistributed in one way or another – we are not in favor of a process to achieve that. This is something we cannot subscribe to,” she told the Wall Street Journal last month.
The poll comes as taxes become a crucial point in the 2024 election. Biden has said he wants to raise the top marginal rate to 39.6%, which would apply to single households with incomes above 400 000 dollars and to married couples whose combined income exceeds $450,000. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has said he wants to extend the tax cuts he passed when he was president. Otherwise, they would expire at the end of next year. Biden would also extend these cuts, except for the wealthy.
Billionaire Warren Buffett has long advocated that those who can pay more taxes should do so, his secretary said paid a higher tax rate than him.
Meanwhile, other billionaires are lining up behind both candidates. black stone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Miriam Adelson support Trump, with Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square would tend to support Trump Also. Tim Mellonheir to the Mellon fortune, recently announced a $50 million donation to a pro-Trump super PAC.
Also last week, billionaire and philanthropist Melinda French Gates endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time, expressing support for Biden in a CNN editorial. And Michael Bloomberg announced a $20 million contribution to support Biden.
A separate FT-Michigan Ross A poll of US voters showed that 45% of top earners believe Biden is better on the economy, surpassing the 40% who think Trump would be better, according to the FT.
