Sanders Didn’t Call for 52% Tax on $29,000 Incomes
Quick Take
The viral post claims, falsely, that Sen. Bernie Sanders in a recent discussion called for a tax rate of 52 percent on incomes of $29,000 or more to cover for his Medicare for All strategy. He didn’t. That amount was floated as a possible tax rate for earnings.
Full Story
A viral article on social media claims that presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders recently suggested a 52% tax rate for those making $29,000 annually.
The article, titled”Bernie Sanders Insane Policies,” properly notes that Sanders stated”in the debate last night” — presumably the Feb. 19 Democratic argument at Las Vegas — which he needs the minimum wage to rise to $15 per hour (a position he is long-held). Nonetheless, it invents a supposed”response” which Sanders supplied in response to a question about how he would pay for Medicare for His proposal for a universal government-run medical insurance system.
The assert spread rapidly on Facebook and Twitter following the latest discussion and was propelled from the well-followed Twitter accounts of the actor James Woods, a supporter of President Donald Trump.
“His response was to increase taxes to 52 percent on anyone making over $29,000 per year,” the article erroneously states, before diving into a math equation meant to demonstrate that this exorbitant tax rate could render a higher minimum wage unsuccessful.
But Sanders did not call for a 52 percent tax rate for those making $29,000 in the argument, the transcript reveals, or elsewhere that we could find.
Sanders has set forth several ways to increase revenue to cover Medicare for All. In 1 record posted by Sanders, he suggested that a possible marginal tax rate of 52 percent on earnings over $10 million — meaning gross income earned after the initial $10 million will be taxed at the rate.
Another Sanders record on funding the plan, from this past year, indicates that the rate might be higher for earnings over $10 million. It indicates”[m] aking the national income tax more progressive, including a marginal tax rate of around 70 percent on those earning above $10 million, taxing earned and unearned income at the same rates, and limiting tax deductions for filers in the top tax bracket.”
In terms of the $29,000 figure, the exact same financing proposal requires a possible”4% income-based premium paid by workers, exempting the first $29,000 in earnings for a household of four.” To the government, healthcare costs paid by individuals, companies, private insurance companies, and local and state authorities would shift under a Medicare for All system.
Learn More: Social Posts Distort Facts on Trump Charities
Sanders has come under complaint from some of his Democratic rivals over the expenses of his universal healthcare plan and how to cover it. As we have clarified before, there were various estimates — including one study printed by his 2016 presidential campaign that stated the strategy would reduce federal health spending by $6.3 trillion over a decade. Others have discovered federal spending would rise by $6.6 trillion over a decade. Sanders has set forth several ways to increase revenue to cover Medicare for All.
In 1 record posted by Sanders, he suggested that a possible marginal tax rate of 52 percent on earnings over $10 million — meaning gross income earned after the initial $10 million will be taxed at the rate.
In terms of the $29,000 figure, the exact same financing proposal requires a possible”4% income-based premium paid by workers, exempting the first $29,000 in earnings for a household of four.” To the government, healthcare costs paid by individuals, companies, private insurance companies, and local and state authorities would shift under a Medicare for All system.
A new Yale research — the direct writer of which revealed that she had been an”informal unpaid adviser” to Sanders’ office for his 2019 Medicare for All Act — concluded the strategy could reduce federal healthcare spending by over $450 billion annually.
