Fair Share for Vermont Revenue Proposals
Congress and the President are taking our hard-earned tax dollars to give massive tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations. Meanwhile, many Vermonters are struggling to pay make ends meet and are worried about the future.
Now more than ever, it’s time for the wealthiest Vermonters to pay their fair share, so we can build a future for Vermont that works for everyone.
Read more about our proposals below:
The top 1% of Vermonters are set to receive an average annual tax cut of $57 thousand per filer due to policies passed by Congress and the Trump Administration. To pay for this tax bonus for the wealthy, the federal government is making catastrophic funding reductions to programs that Vermonters rely on. Our revenue proposals would claw back that federal tax cut at the state level, close federal tax policy loopholes that benefit the wealthy, and ensure the wealthiest Vermonters pay their fair share in taxes. If enacted, these proposals would raise nearly $420 million in annual state revenue through:
Surcharges on high incomes
The Fair Share for Vermont Campaign supports the following surcharges on high income-earners:
Option 1 (Original Proposal): 3% tax surcharge on personal income over $500 thousand. Currently, the top 1% of Vermont income-earners pay a smaller portion of their income in state and local taxes than middle-income Vermonters. This proposal would only increase taxes on these wealthiest Vermonters and would raise $114 million in annual state revenue.
Option 2 (Clawback Proposal): 2% tax surcharge on personal income over $250 thousand, 5% tax surcharge on personal income over $500 thousand. Due to congressional and presidential actions, the top 1% of Vermonters are set to receive an average federal tax cut of $57 thousand per year, beginning in 2026. This plan would recoup ~100% of the tax cut for the top 1% and ~10% of the tax cut for the next 4%. This proposal would raise $230 million in annual state revenue.
Option 3 (Clawback + Original Proposal): 2% tax surcharge on personal income over $250 thousand, 8% tax surcharge on personal income over $500 thousand. Before this most recent round of tax cuts for the wealthy, the wealthiest Vermonters were already paying less than their fair share of taxes. This plan would both claw back this federal tax cut for the wealthy and enact the Fair Share for Vermont Campaign’s original revenue proposal. This proposal would raise $344 million in annual state revenue.
Wealth Proceeds Tax
The Fair Share for Vermont Campaign supports a 4% tax on the proceeds of wealth for individuals making over $200 thousand per year and joint filers making over $250 thousand per year. In addition to the tax cuts included in OBBBA, the federal government currently gives wealthy Americans and Vermonters large tax loopholes through preferential treatment of certain types of income. For most Vermonters, income is earned through work. For the wealthiest, a significant amount of income is unearned and a product of wealth–such as income from investments. A majority of that unearned income is taxed at a lower rate federally than earned income that comes from a paycheck. The Fair Share for Vermont Campaign supports a 4% tax on those wealth proceeds to close that federal loophole. This proposal would raise $75 million in annual state revenue