March 17, 2021

Washington Post: Sanders, Warren reveal bill to tax CEO pay during income inequality hearing targeting Amazon

The hearing before the Senate Budget Committee started with Sen. Bernie Sanders lambasting income inequality during the pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon faced fresh scrutiny for its treatment of workers at a Senate hearing Wednesday on income inequality, as senators introduced a new bill to tax chief executives who make 50 times more than the median workers.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) drilled into the gap between most Americans and billionaires during his opening remarks, pointing to data that billionaires have gained significant wealth during the pandemic.

“During the pandemic, millions of people are struggling to put food on the table, [and a] handful of billionaires are becoming much richer,” he said. “Is that the America that we want? I don’t think so.”

Sanders’s “Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act” would impose increased taxes on companies that have CEOs making significantly more than a median worker at the firm. It is also sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). The bill includes stock options and awards as part of a CEO’s salaries, and if the CEO is not the highest-paid employee at the company, the equation would be based on who is.

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Read the full article here.


By:  Rachel Lerman
Source: Washington Post