Right now, every dollar of income a working person earns is worth less than a dollar earned by an investor.

Thanks to special tax treatment for capital gains and inheritance income, when rich Americans earn millions through passive income or inheritance, they face a substantially lower tax burden than Americans who actually work for a living. At the end of the day, our tax code makes their money worth more than your sweat.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Congress can, and must, change the tax code so that ALL income over $1 million, including investment income and inheritance, is taxed the same as income earned by actual work.

Over the last thirty years, lawmakers have consistently privileged income coming from the sale of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds over income from actual labor. In the process, they have given an unnecessary break to wealthy Americans who make most of their money from investments.

Today, the top marginal rate that workers pay on their income is 37%, while the top rate that investors pay on capital gains is just 20%. That means the maximum tax rate for someone earning hundreds of millions of dollars passively, through selling assets, is lower than the top rate paid by someone who works for a living earning just $70,000 per year.

It’s outrageous. But the children of the rich get an even better deal.

Wealthy families are now able to pass on over $22 million to their heirs without paying a single cent in taxes. That’s right, again, no work involved, you just need to be born into the right family to keep $22 million tax free.

There is no defense for a tax code that says those who work for a living should be taxed more than wealthy investors and those who got rich thanks to an accident of birth. People who earn money passively should not be paying lower tax rates than people who work for a living. At the end of the day, money is money, whether you worked for it or whether you inherited it, and it should be taxed the same.

Congress must act to level the playing field and treat all income over $1 million, whether ordinary income, capital gains income, or inheritance income, the same.

Sign our petition demanding Congress tax their money like your work and we’ll personally deliver every signature to members of Congress directly on Tax Day. Add your name now.