Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen is backing a proposal that could allow many lower and middle income workers to pay little or no federal income tax on part of their earnings.
The thresholds are roughly $46,000 for single filers and $92,000 for married couples.
And according to estimates, the plan could affect roughly half of all U.S. workers.
That’s a massive change.
The obvious question is: who pays for it?
Supporters want to offset the cost with higher taxes on millionaires and billionaires, including new surtaxes on income above $1 million.
Some advocates have even pointed to bringing back a 70% top tax rate, similar to what existed decades ago.
Here’s where the numbers get interesting.
The tax cuts could cost somewhere between $500 billion and $900 billion per year, depending on how the final version is structured.
That’s a huge bill.
So the entire proposal basically comes down to one bet:
Can Washington collect enough money from a relatively small group of very high earners to cover tax cuts for tens of millions of workers?
Because if the math works, this would be one of the biggest tax shifts in decades.
If it doesn’t, then the deficit becomes part of the conversation very quickly.
And that’s the part I think everyone will end up arguing about.
Washington Post on Van Hollen plan: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/05/middle-class-tax-relief-senate-bill/
Tax Foundation analysis: https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/van-hollen-cory-booker-tax-cut-plans/