Under our current tax code, it’s your sweat versus their money. When every dollar a wealthy person makes has more value than a dollar made by a working person, then our political economy cannot sustain itself. In fact, the unequal treatment of earned income and capital gains income is one of the largest drivers of inequality in our tax code and further fuels political, economic, and democratic destabilization.

That’s why the Equal Tax Act is the solution to transforming our political economy and putting working people back at the heart of responsible economic policy. This bill would make the tax code more equitable by taxing investment income at the same rate as ordinary labor income and by closing other common loopholes used by the wealthy to avoid paying their fair share.

Among other things, the Equal Tax Act would:

• Limit the lower preferential tax rate for long-term capital gains and dividends to incomes under $1 million

• End the stepped-up basis loophole and disrupt the “buy, borrow, die” strategy used by the wealthy to avoid taxation by treating capital gains as realized at the time of gift or death, with exclusion allowances of up to $1 million in gains

• Enact a lifetime limit of $1 million on the use of like-kind exchanges on real estate gains

• Limit the pass-through deduction to incomes under $1 million

This bill is grounded in fairness and fiscal responsibility. It preserves important protections for middle-class families, family farms, and small businesses, while ensuring those who have benefited the most from our economy contribute their fair share.

We need a tax code that puts working people first and at the heart of our economic policy, and this bill will do exactly that.

Click “Start Writing” to send a message to your Congressperson to support the Equal Tax Act.