[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2143 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2143

   To impose a net worth tax of 14.25 percent on all individuals and 
            trusts with a net worth of $10,000,000 or more.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 25, 2017

  Mr. Vargas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To impose a net worth tax of 14.25 percent on all individuals and 
            trusts with a net worth of $10,000,000 or more.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Donald J. Trump Wealth Tax Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 1999, then Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump 
        said the following on Good Morning America regarding his wealth 
        tax plan, ``If I were president, it would be passed. I think if 
        somebody else is president, it probably can't be. . . . This is 
        a tax paid by 1 percent, but the 1 percent will be very big 
        beneficiaries with what's going to happen and the positive 
        forces that would take place in the economy.''.
            (2) In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News in 2015, 
        then Presidential candidate Trump described his 1999 wealth tax 
        plan as ``a very conservative thing to do.''.
            (3) The proposed tax plan, according to then Presidential 
        candidate Trump, was expected to raise $5.7 trillion and pay 
        off the national debt in its entirety at the time.
            (4) Many prominent conservatives have argued reducing the 
        national debt is crucial for our economic health and 
        prosperity, including the following:
                    (A) According to a 2011 Heritage Foundation Report, 
                Saving the American Dream, ``Our national debt now is 
                nearly 70 percent of GDP and on track to hit 185 
                percent within 25 years. Lower debt will remove the 
                threat of financial crisis and restore the confidence 
                of investors and lenders. It will also sharply reduce 
                the debt burden on future generations, relieve the 
                pressure on interest rates, and help to secure our 
                prosperity.''.
                    (B) Republican National Committee Chairman, now 
                White House Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus in his 2014 
                Statement on the National Debt Increase stated, 
                ``Spending more money than we have is immoral; it hurts 
                future generations who will be left to pay off the 
                bills. Taking care of this generation shouldn't require 
                robbing the next. This is why Republicans have fought 
                for fiscal responsibility in Congress.''.
                    (C) As the Cato Institute wrote in 2016, ``The debt 
                matters. Not only is it remarkably unfair to our 
                children and grandchildren, it is imposing costs today. 
                Our economic growth is slower and our wages lower than 
                they would be if it were smaller. Other political and 
                economic priorities are being squeezed out. Interest on 
                the debt was projected to reach $261 billion this year, 
                and exceed $500 billion by 2020 even before factoring 
                in the recent budget-busting deals.''.
                    (D) In August of 2016, President of the Committee 
                for a Responsible Federal Budget, Maya MacGuineas, 
                said, ``The evidence is clear: Reducing our projected 
                long-term debt will promote economic growth; increasing 
                debt will slow that growth.''.
                    (E) According to the GOP Platform in 2016, ``Our 
                national debt is a burden on our economy and families. 
                The huge increase in the national debt demanded by and 
                incurred during the current Administration has placed a 
                significant burden on future generations. We must 
                impose firm caps on future debt, accelerate the 
                repayment of the trillions we now owe in order to 
                reaffirm our principles of responsible and limited 
                government, and remove the burdens we are placing on 
                future generations. A strong economy is one key to debt 
                reduction, but spending restraint is a necessary 
                component that must be vigorously pursued.''.
            (5) Since the beginning of the Global War on Terror, the 
        Overseas Operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other War on 
        Terror-related activities have added an estimated $1.7 trillion 
        to the national debt (according to figures by the Congressional 
        Research Service and the Congressional Budget Office).
            (6) Several academic and media reports project total 
        spending and future obligations for the Overseas Operations in 
        Iraq, Afghanistan, and other War on Terror-related activities 
        to cost between $4 trillion and $6 trillion (a recent report by 
        the Cost of War project at Brown University estimates the costs 
        through 2053 as $4.792 trillion).
            (7) If the Donald J. Trump Wealth Tax raises the $5.7 
        trillion that President Trump expected it would in 1999, it 
        would cover all current and future obligations incurred by the 
        Global War on Terror and reduce the debt to GDP ratio from 77 
        percent to 46 percent.
            (8) On February 28, 2017, President Trump declared in his 
        speech before Congress that, ``Democrats and Republicans should 
        get together and unite for the good of our country and for the 
        good of the American people.''.
            (9) In the spirit of bipartisanship, we introduce the 
        Donald J. Trump Wealth Tax to fulfill his promise to the 
        American people and substantially reduce our national debt.

SEC. 3. DONALD J. TRUMP WEALTH TAX.

    (a) Tax Imposed.--There is hereby imposed a tax equal to 14.25 
percent of so much of the net worth of any individual who is a citizen 
or resident of the United States, or any applicable trust, as exceeds 
$10,000,000.
    (b) Valuation.--For purposes of this section, net worth shall be 
determined as of the date of the enactment of this Act under rules 
similar to the rules for determining the taxable estate of a decedent 
under chapter 11 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, except that in 
the case of any married individuals, the tax imposed by this section 
shall be determined jointly.
    (c) Trusts.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) Applicable trust.--The term ``applicable trust'' means 
        any trust which is not treated as a grantor trust under such 
        Code and which is--
                    (A) a domestic trust; or
                    (B) any portion of a foreign trust which is 
                allocable, under such rules as the Secretary of the 
                Treasury may prescribe, to one or more beneficiaries 
                who are citizens or residents of the United States.
            (2) Grantor trust.--The net worth of any grantor trust 
        shall be taken into account by the grantor in determining the 
        tax imposed by this section.
    (d) Exclusion of Principal Residence and Its Indebtedness.--The 
value of any principal residence (within the meaning section 121 of 
such Code), and any acquisition indebtedness (as defined in section 
163(h)(3)(B) of such Code) with respect thereto, shall not be taken 
into account under subsection (a).
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