Lawmakers plan to introduce leg- islation in the 117th Congress to boost the required minimumdistribution age as well as implement awealth tax.
House Ways and Means CommitteeChairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., plansto reintroduce the Securing a StrongRetirement Act of 2020, which wouldboost the RMD age to 75 from 72.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. —
who’s set to become a member of the
Senate Finance Committee in the new
Congress — said she’ll introduce leg-
islation implementing a wealth tax on
fortunes over $50 million.
Senate Majority Leader ChuckSchumer, D-NY, announced SenateDemocratic committee memberships inearly February. All memberships havebeen agreed upon by the DemocraticConference and are subject to ratifica-tion by the full Senate.
“I’m very pleased to join the Finance
Committee, where I’ll continue to fight on
behalf of working families and press giant
corporations, the wealthy, and the well-
connected to finally pay their fair share in
taxes,” Warren said in a statement.
“I look forward to being a progressive
voice at the table to secure meaning-
ful relief and lasting economic security
for struggling families, including as an
aggressive advocate for accomplishing
much of our agenda through the budget
reconciliation process,” she explained.
The Senate Finance Committee hasjurisdiction over taxation and revenue policy, including oversight of theInternal Revenue Service.
Andy Friedman, founder and prin-
cipal of The Washington Update, told
Investment Advisor in an early February
email that Warren has been propos-
ing a wealth tax “since well before the
Democratic debates. Some observers
assert that a tax based on wealth, rather
than on income, is unconstitutional. I
will leave that question to the constitu-
tional lawyers.”
That being said, “a tax based on wealth
appears exceedingly difficult to imple-
ment administratively,” said Friedman,
a former tax attorney. “Currently, the
IRS values an individual’s assets once
during a lifetime, to compute estate tax
at death. That process is fraught, requir-
ing agreement on valuations of assets for
which there is no ready market, such as
Beginnings
WASHINGTON WATCHBy Melanie Waddell
Wealth Tax, RMD Boost to Be Floated in
New Congress
Sen. Warren plans to introduce legislation implementing a tax on fortunes over$50 million, while Rep. Neal plans reintroduction of Secure Act 2.0
SusanWalsh/APPhoto/Bloomberg
