As this tax season winds down, several Democrats lawmakers are already thinking about next year and making the case for President Joe Biden’s proposed minimum income tax on billionaires.

“This Tax Day, it’s a clear choice.  And the President is going to continue fighting for middle-class tax relief and to make sure the richest Americans and largest corporations don’t pay a lower rate than middle-class families,” the White House said in a statement released on Monday.  

Supporters of Biden’s plan say that some everyday Americans, including teachers and firefighters, pay more in federal income taxes than some of the nation’s wealthiest Americans.

In a press release, the White House said the average tax rate for billionaires and some of America’s largest corporations is about 8%.

“The tax will apply only to the top one-one hundredth of one percent (0.01%) of American households -- those worth over $100 million, and over half of hundreds of billions raised would come from households worth more than $1 billion,” the White House press release said. 

There have been years where even billionaires like Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Elon Musk of Tesla have paid nothing in federal income taxes. Critics of the practice say that there’s nothing that prevents them from doing this. They also claim that some of the ultra-rich can do this because they pay themselves very low corporate salaries, while they make their real money in stocks and other assets. They then borrow against those assets to fund their lifestyle, without having to sell off their assets. 

President Joe Biden’s tax proposal would make some changes to the current system. The proposal, which was included in Biden’s 2023 budget plan, would require the wealthiest American households to pay a minimum of 20% on all of their income. This would include any if their unrealized investment income, which is currently not taxed.

Those who make more than $100 million dollars a year would be subject to the 20% minimum tax. The proposal needs congressional approval before becoming law, but it already has the support of several in Congress, including Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). 

“Thanks to loopholes in our tax code, for billionaires, paying taxes can be optional. This has to stop. Now, last week, President Biden proposed a new minimum tax to ensure that the very, very rich pay at least 20% in taxes, every year, on all their income. I’ve long called for a tax on the wealth—not just the income—of ultra-millionaires and billionaires. The President’s proposal is different, but it is a giant step forward,” Warren said during a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing. 

Congressional representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) also shared his support for the president’s proposal during an exclusive interview with Spectrum News. 

“I mean, average people are paying, you know, their fair share in taxes and billionaires and big corporations are oftentimes paying nothing, that has to stop and those monies need to go toward funding important programs, as well as towards deficit reduction, also major investments and dealing with the climate crisis,” McGovern said. 

As Democrats, Warren and McGovern’s support for Biden’s proposal isn’t unexpected, but not everyone is on board with the plan. There are already some moderate Democrats, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D- W.VA), who’ve criticized the president’s plan. What also remains to be seen is whether any Republicans will support the plan when they return to Washington next week.