A Fox News poll found much stronger support for Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax than Trump's Mexico border wall
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A poll that Fox News released Sunday found much stronger support for Sen. Elizabeth Warren's proposed wealth tax than it did for President Donald Trump's proposed Mexico border wall.
The Week first reported the greater backing that the wealth tax enjoyed compared with the border wall, Trump's signature plan that helped propel him to the White House in 2016.
Among 1,000 US registered voters, a wealth tax like the kind Warren has proposed had a 68% level of support, the highest of any of the Democratic proposals surveyed.
By comparison, 44% of respondents supported construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border, while 52% opposed the idea.
A new poll released by Fox News on Sunday found much stronger support for Sen. Elizabeth Warren's proposed wealth tax among voters than it did for President Donald Trump's proposed wall on the US-Mexico border.
The Week first reported the greater backing that the wealth tax enjoyed compared with the border wall, a signature plan of Trump's in his successful 2016 presidential campaign.
Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they would support "creating an annual 2% wealth tax on an individual's worth over $50 million in addition to income tax," a proposal matching Warren's, which raises the tax to 6% on wealth over $1 billion.
That level of support was the highest of any of the Democratic proposals. Only 26% said they were against such a tax.
By comparison, 44% said they supported "building a wall along the US-Mexico border," while 52% opposed the idea.
The poll, which surveyed 1,000 registered voters December 8-11, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
It's the latest poll to suggest a Warren-style wealth tax enjoys wide support across educational and gender lines from Democrats and Republicans, who usually resist the idea of big tax increases to fund sweeping expansions of government programs.
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The Warren plan aims to tax the value of everything the nation's wealthiest people own, including assets like stocks, paintings, yachts, and homes.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a fellow 2020 Democratic presidential contender along with Warren, has proposed a wealth tax of his own that would hit more of the wealthiest taxpayers compared with Warren's plan, though estimates suggest they would have similar effects cutting down the fortunes of billionaires in the long run.
Critics have argued the wealth tax would stifle growth and would be difficult to implement effectively, but proponents contend it's necessary to reduce gaping inequality in American society.
Other candidates in the Democratic primary have rolled out tax plans hitting the richest Americans without necessarily taxing the entirety of their wealth. Former Vice President Joe Biden wants to close loopholes and slap new taxes on wealthy taxpayers and corporations like Amazon and Netflix.
Read the original article on Business Insider
