Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist is calling on Rep. Ro Khanna to practice what he preaches on wealth taxes, sending the California Democrat a letter urging him to voluntarily write a check to the federal government equal to 5% of his reported $232.7 million net worth.
“You can take a public step away from inequality,” Mr. Norquist wrote Friday in the two-page letter addressed to Mr. Khanna’s Capitol Hill office.
Mr. Khanna and Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont independent, introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act in March, legislation that would establish a 5% annual wealth tax on the nation’s 938 billionaires.
The two liberal lawmakers say the measure would raise $4.4 trillion in revenue that could be used to “substantially improve the lives of the American people.”
Mr. Khanna has also embraced a California ballot initiative this year, the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, which would levy a 5% tax on individuals residing in California with a net worth exceeding $1 billion, targeting roughly 200 people.
Mr. Norquist drew Mr. Khanna’s net worth figure from a recent Notus report and pegged the Californian’s net worth at roughly 1,200 times the median American household net worth of $192,900, citing Federal Reserve data.
DOCUMENT: Americas for Tax Reform letter to Rep. Ro Khanna
Notus recently estimated Mr. Khanna’s net worth to be $232.7 million. It would fall well below the threshold of both measures he supports.
Mr. Khanna, who is considered a possible contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, has described wealth inequality as “the moral failure of our time.”
Mr. Norquist cited that framing back at him, noting that the Treasury Department has accepted voluntary extra tax payments since 1843 and that 5% of Mr. Khanna’s estimated fortune comes to $11,635,000 — enough, Mr. Norquist noted, to build nearly ten feet of California’s long-delayed high-speed rail project.
“It would be obscene for rich congressmen to demand such sacrifice from others without leading by example,” Mr. Norquist wrote.
Mr. Norquist also warned that tax-the-rich proposals have historically spread to lower-income targets.
With that in mind, he urged Mr. Khanna to prepare for federal tax agents to inventory his taxable assets — “vintage comic books and Mickey Mantle rookie cards” included — assuring him the list would “be fully safeguarded by the IRS and its contractors.”
The letter included a pre-addressed envelope for Mr. Khanna’s convenience and urged him to photograph the moment for social media.
“I will help you spread the word,” Mr. Norquist wrote.
Mr. Khanna’s office was sent a request for comment.
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