Congress Introduces Billionaire Income Tax Act as People Power Rises Against Extreme Concentration of Wealth
Last week, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (D-PA-12) introduced the Billionaires Income Tax Act — a bold measure that takes aim at one of the deepest injustices in our economy: billionaires getting richer every day while working families are taxed on every paycheck.
Rep. Lee made it plain:
“Every paycheck a worker earns is taxed before it even reaches their pocket, but billionaires can sit on vast fortunes that grow larger every single day without ever paying their fair share. Billionaires do not need another yacht or another mansion, but the people in our communities do need housing they can afford, clean air and water, good schools, and safe neighborhoods.”
The bill would finally tax wealth gains as they happen, not retroactively decades later when billionaires choose to sell off their assets. If passed, the bill would:
Require annual taxation of non-tradable assets like stocks
End loopholes that let billionaires dodge taxes through inheritance schemes
Apply fair interest charges on deferred gains from assets like real estate
Raise hundreds of billions of dollars to strengthen Social Security and Medicare — without raising taxes on working families
And the momentum is real: the bill has already been endorsed by a sweeping coalition, from the AFL-CIO to Greenpeace to the National Women’s Law Center, representing labor, environmental, faith, and justice movements across the country. (The press release from Representative Lee’s office includes the full list.)
From the Streets to Congress
Protestors dressed in Satanic costumes demonstrate with large sign during NYC's "Make Billionaires Pay" protest on September 20.
The fight for a fair tax system isn’t just in the swamp.
Over the weekend, thousands marched through New York City to demand billionaires pay their fair share — taking to Billionaires Row and Trump Hotel with a clear message: profits can no longer come before people’s lives.
Marchers carried giant puppets of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg. Indigenous leader Mahaishuwea, speaking outside Blackstone’s headquarters, tied today’s billionaire greed to centuries of extraction from Native lands:
“They have a sickness. We are all on this Earth. This is our mother.”
Protestors demonstrate at NYC's "Make Billionaires Pay" protest on September 20, 2025.
Signs called out the cost of climate destruction, deportations, and corporate greed. Many protesters emphasized that climate justice, migrant justice, and economic justice are one fight.
“It’s all people without power taking it back,” said Bronx organizer Julia Donahue-Wait, who joined with her daughter Eurydice. “What we say to the kids is, we have safety and we need to stand up for people who don’t have safety.”
Why It Matters
Line of police offers block the crowd on Second Avenue for traffic at NYC's "Make Billionaires Pay" protest on September 20, 2025.
For decades, billionaires have used their wealth to buy political influence, dodge taxes, and extract more from communities and the planet. Rep. Lee and her colleagues are pushing back — not just with this bill, but with companion efforts like the Abolish Super PACs Act and the OLIGARCH Act to rein in extreme wealth and corporate political power.
At the same time, people across the country are rising up — from the streets of New York to community roundtables in Western Pennsylvania — demanding a democracy and economy that work for all of us, not just the ultra-rich few.
This is what winning looks like: grassroots power meeting bold leadership in Congress.
