Billionaires Income Tax Act
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This legislation (Billionaires Income Tax Act) requires individuals with over $100 million in assets or $10 million in annual income to pay taxes on unrealized gains annually through mark-to-market taxation. It closes the 'buy, borrow, die' loophole where wealthy individuals buy appreciating assets, borrow against them tax-free, and pass them to heirs who receive a stepped-up basis that erases all deferred gains.
Who Benefits and How
Federal Treasury gains significant new revenue from taxing previously untaxed wealth appreciation. Middle-class taxpayers benefit from a more equitable tax system where billionaires pay taxes annually like wage earners. Working families face a fairer system where investment income is taxed more like earned income.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Ultra-high-net-worth individuals ($100M+ in assets or $10M+ income) must pay annual taxes on unrealized gains in tradable assets and face deferral recapture charges when selling non-tradable assets. Family offices and wealth managers face new reporting requirements and reduced effectiveness of tax deferral strategies. Pass-through entities (partnerships, S-corps) held by applicable taxpayers must report ownership and gains annually. Heirs of billionaires can no longer receive stepped-up basis to erase deferred gains at death.
Key Provisions
- Mark-to-market taxation on tradable assets (stocks, bonds) held by applicable taxpayers, taxed annually as if sold
- Deferral recapture on non-tradable assets: interest charges on deferred gains when assets are sold
- Applicable taxpayer threshold: $100 million+ in assets or $10 million+ in adjusted gross income (3-year lookback)
- Eliminates stepped-up basis at death for applicable taxpayers - assets treated as sold at fair market value
- Complex reporting requirements for pass-through entities to track gains allocable to billionaire owners
- Deferral recapture interest calculated from when gains first accrued until realization
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires billionaires to pay taxes annually on unrealized gains through mark-to-market taxation and eliminates the 'buy, borrow, die' strategy that allows the ultra-wealthy to defer taxes indefinitely.
Who Benefits
- Federal Treasury
- Middle-class taxpayers (relative fairness)
- Tax equity advocates
Who Bears Costs
- Ultra-high-net-worth individuals
- Family offices
- Wealth management firms
Key Policy Areas
Taxation, Wealth Inequality, Estate Planning, Capital Gains
Primary Purpose
Requires billionaires to pay taxes annually on unrealized gains through mark-to-market taxation and eliminates the 'buy, borrow, die' strategy that allows the ultra-wealthy to defer taxes indefinitely.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Target extreme wealth concentration by requiring billionaires to pay taxes annually on appreciation, eliminating the primary mechanism by which the ultra-wealthy avoid paying taxes for decades or forever"
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Wyden (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Warren, Mr. Sanders, …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Applicable taxpayers (individuals with $100M+ wealth or $10M+ income), Applicable taxpayers using life insurance for tax deferral, Applicable taxpayers with capital losses from market downturns
Positive-direction: Applicable taxpayers with capital losses from market downturns
Negative-direction: Applicable taxpayers (individuals with $100M+ wealth or $10M+ income), Applicable taxpayers using life insurance for tax deferral, Applicable taxpayers with investment income, Billionaires holding publicly traded securities, Family offices managing pass-through structures, High-income individuals meeting $10M income threshold, Holders of publicly traded securities meeting applicable taxpayer threshold, Life insurance and annuity issuers, Life insurance companies offering policies to wealthy individuals, Newly-qualifying applicable taxpayers, Opportunity zone fund managers, Owners of private company stock, Owners of stocks, bonds, and derivatives on established markets, Partnerships with billionaire owners, Pass-through entities with billionaire owners transferring assets, Private equity fund managers with carried interest, US beneficiaries of foreign trusts, Ultra-high-net-worth individuals meeting $100M threshold, Ultra-high-net-worth individuals using buy-borrow-die strategies
Corporate executives with large deferred compensation packages, Employers paying large deferred compensation, Executives with deferred compensation exceeding $100M
Federal Treasury, Heirs of billionaires, Trust beneficiaries receiving appreciated property
Positive-direction: Federal Treasury
Negative-direction: Heirs of billionaires, Trust beneficiaries receiving appreciated property, Wealthy individuals renouncing US citizenship or residency
Applicable taxpayers with primary residences, Holders of real estate and other illiquid assets, Wealthy investors using opportunity zone investments for tax deferral
Positive-direction: Applicable taxpayers with primary residences
Negative-direction: Holders of real estate and other illiquid assets, Wealthy investors using opportunity zone investments for tax deferral
Estate planning attorneys and wealth advisors, Offshore trust planners and administrators
Trust administrators for applicable taxpayer trusts
Founders of successful startups meeting applicable taxpayer threshold
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Year-end holding of tradable assets OR any disregarded nonrecognition event (transfers that would normally defer gain)
Interest on deferred taxes calculated from when gain first accrued until asset is sold
Partnership, S corporation, or other pass-through entity subject to reporting requirements when owned by applicable taxpayers
Individual with net worth of $100 million+ OR adjusted gross income of $10 million+ (based on 3-year lookback)
Assets traded on established securities markets (stocks, bonds, derivatives) - subject to annual mark-to-market
Covered assets not traded on established markets - subject to deferral recapture upon sale
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology