US should levy more tax from rich people: The Hill

NEW YORK - In recent decades, US Congress has repeatedly cut and rarely raised taxes on wealthy people or corporations, with over 80 percent of the tax cuts passed since 2000 going to the wealthiest 40 percent, said an opinion piece published by The Hill on Sunday.

"Nearly two-thirds of those went to the wealthiest 20 percent and most of that to the richest five percent. This enriched the uber-rich and simultaneously ballooned the deficit, fueling today's debt ceiling drama," the article said.

The Democratic government's tax changes raise hundreds of billions of dollars to preserve the planet, improve people's health and reduce the national debt, though the Republicans are against the actions, according to the article.

"The Billionaire Minimum Income Tax would phase in for those with wealth over 100 million US dollars, requiring they pay at least a 20 percent tax rate on all income including unrealized capital gains," it noted.

Currently, the very wealthy can accumulate capital gains and pay no taxes if they don't sell their assets. Correcting this could raise over 350 billion dollars over a decade from only the extremely wealthy, it added.