February 8, 2023 10:42AM 

# Biden’s Billionaire Tax 

By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) 

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In his state of the union address last night, President Biden [said](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/us/politics/biden-state-of-the-union-transcript.html), “We have to reward work, not just wealth. Pass my proposal for the billionaire minimum tax … no billionaire should be paying a lower tax rate than a schoolteacher or a firefighter.”

Actually, we should reward work and wealth by not overtaxing them. Wealth is just savings, which supports workers by providing resources for businesses investment. Jeff Bezos’ wealth of $125 billion is not gold bars under his mattress, but rather mainly capital in Amazon which supports opportunities for more than a million workers. Without such wealth or capital, productivity and wages would decline. So rather than being at odds, work and wealth are on the same side against overbearing government.

As for billionaires paying lower tax rates than schoolteachers and firefighters, [data from Biden’s own Treasury](https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/tax-policy/office-of-tax-analysis) refutes the idea. Looking at the blue bars, schoolteachers and firefighters would generally pay only half the total tax rate of people at the top.

![s](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2023-02/treasury%20tax%20rates%202023.png?itok=j-P4azDI) 

Background reading:

[Wealth and growth](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/how-wealth-fuels-growth)

[Taxes on wealth and capital](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-bulletin/taxing-wealth-capital-income)

[Billionaire tax](https://www.cato.org/blog/biden-bulldozes-billionaires-new-tax)

[Biden’s fake 8% tax rate](https://www.cato.org/blog/tax-rates-rich)

[High earners pay higher tax rates](https://www.cato.org/blog/tax-rates-income-level-0)

[CBO tax rates data](https://www.cato.org/blog/tax-rates-income-level)

##### Related Tags 

[Economics](https://www.cato.org/economics), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) 

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