Dueling plans may prompt clash of Sanders, Warren

WASHINGTON» Elizabeth Warren’s call for a new 2% tax on the wealthiest Americans is so popular among her supporters that impromptu chants of “two cents” routinely surface at her rallies. But Bernie Sanders, Warren’s chief competitor for liberal voters in the Democratic presidential race, made clear on Tuesday he also has “a plan for that.”

Sanders, a Vermont senator, announced a plan to tax the nation’s wealthiest households. He vows to go further than Warren and generate more than $4 trillion over the next decade, substantially reducing billionaires’ fortunes.

His attempt to take back an issue that has become a signature of Warren’s comes as she’s gaining ground in the Democratic primary while Sanders’ support appears to be softening. The Massachusetts senator has topped Sanders in recent polls of Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire that show her running about even with the longtime front-runner, former Vice President Joe Biden, in those states.

Warren and Sanders have steadfastly refused to criticize each other while competing to deny President Donald Trump a second term. But the dueling “wealth tax” plans suggest that Sanders may try to take on Warren more directly.

The plan unveiled by Sanders seeks a 1% levy on households worth more than $32 million and proposes tax rates that would increase for wealthier people, up to 8% for fortunes in excess of $10 billion.

The tax would affect about 180,000 households, or around 0.1% nationwide, according to Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez, economists at the University of California-Berkeley, who estimated it would raise about $4.35 trillion in government revenue by the 2028 budget year.

Warren announced months ago her support for a 2% tax on households worth $50 million-plus. Citing economists, Warren’s campaign estimates its proposed levy would raise $2.75 trillion over 10 years.