tax
Wealthy households face a tighter tax-avoidance test
Senator Ruben Gallego’s bill would change the tax code’s rules for very high-income households, with the aim of making it harder to shelter income and assets.
Senator Ruben Gallego has introduced a Senate bill aimed at the top end of the tax system. It would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to curb ways very wealthy taxpayers can avoid taxes on income and assets.
- Targets high-net-worth individuals, not ordinary filers
- Would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
- Sponsored by Sen. Ruben Gallego and sent to Finance on June 2
- For very wealthy households, the fight is not just about tax rates
- It is about whether income and assets can be arranged so less tax ends up due than the law intended
For very wealthy households, the fight is not just about tax rates. It is about whether income and assets can be arranged so less tax ends up due than the law intended. In the federal Senate, Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego has introduced a bill aimed at that problem.
The measure would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 so high-net-worth individuals cannot avoid paying taxes on their income and assets. The available material does not spell out the mechanics, but it makes the target clear: the top end of the tax system.
The pressure at the top
The argument behind the bill is straightforward. When the wealthiest taxpayers can pull back from what they owe, the missing revenue does not disappear. It has to be made up elsewhere or left uncollected, which is the pressure point Gallego is trying to put back into the code.
The bill was introduced June 2 and sent to the Senate Finance Committee.