Congress proposes 10% surtax on millionaires to fund public revenue
H.R. 8294 — Millionaires Surtax Act · Filed by Donald Beyer (D-VA) · 9 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 15, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill imposes a new 10% surtax on individual income exceeding $2 million per year ($1 million for single filers), effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026. The surtax applies only to individuals, not corporations, and includes carve-outs for charitable trusts, nonresident aliens, and U.S. citizens living abroad. High-income earners pay more in federal income tax; the government collects additional revenue.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a new progressive surtax on high earners. It is straightforward tax policy with no hidden riders or carve-outs—a direct revenue measure targeting the top income bracket.
What the text implies
- The surtax does not apply to investment interest deductions, potentially allowing high-income earners to reduce taxable income through debt-financed investments.
- Charitable trusts are explicitly exempted, meaning high-net-worth individuals using charitable vehicles may avoid the surtax on trust income.
- The surtax is not treated as a 'tax imposed by this chapter' for credit purposes, which may create unintended interactions with other tax credits or the alternative minimum tax.
- Citizens and residents living abroad receive a dollar-amount reduction tied to foreign earned-income exclusions (Section 911), creating a potential loophole for expatriates.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The surtax targets only high-income individuals (above $2M/$1M thresholds) and generates federal revenue without affecting ordinary wage-earners or middle-class households. The revenue can fund public services or reduce deficits, benefiting the broader public.
Who stands to gain
- U.S. federal government (revenue collection)
Named in the bill
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, U.S. Treasury, High-income individuals (>$2M/$1M), Charitable trusts, Nonresident aliens
Where it stands
9 cosponsors: 9 Democrats.
- Apr 15, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Apr 15, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $75,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 57 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Donald Beyer, the sponsor, reported $633,099 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- National Women's Law Center Action Fund — $75,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,853 characters) on Aug 29, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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