Billionaires would pay a 5% wealth tax to fund benefits and rebates

Title I creates a new “wealth tax” in the Internal Revenue Code. Individuals and some trusts with over $1 billion in net assets worldwide would owe 5% of their net asset value each year, with the threshold indexed for inflation. Married couples are treated as one taxpayer. The bill defines how to calculate asset values, including rules for hard‑to‑value and children’s assets, and special rules for non‑residents, trusts, deaths, and people who give up U. S. status (who face a one‑time 60% wealth tax that year).

The IRS must build a national asset ownership registry, expand information reporting on many financial and business assets, and cannot let the wealth tax be deducted from income taxes. At least 50% of wealth‑tax payers must be audited each year, and 1% of wealth‑tax revenues are automatically set aside for enforcement. Title II renames and repurposes the 2021 “recovery rebates” section of the tax code into ongoing “affordability rebates.

” For 2026, it sets rebate amounts at $3,000 per adult ($6,000 for joint filers) plus $3,000 per dependent, with phase‑outs adjusted to later tax years and updated income data years. Title III rolls back most prior “reconciliation health” provisions from a specified earlier law, with a few listed exceptions. It also removes the 400% cap on income for Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and sets a new sliding scale so that people with incomes above 400% of the poverty line continue to qualify, but generally pay 8. 5% of income toward benchmark premiums. These changes apply starting with tax years after 2025.

Title IV adds dental, hearing, and limited routine vision services to Medicare Part B. It defines which dental services are covered (preventive, treatment, dentures and implants), how often certain preventive services are paid for, and creates a national dental fee schedule with geographic adjustments and annual inflation updates. It adds incentives for rural dental providers, brings oral health professionals into Medicare’s payment system, and sets limits so Medicare only pays for certain visit frequencies.

Separate sections expand Medicare coverage and payment rules for audiology services, hearing aid exams and hearing aids, and routine eye exams and eyeglasses, including caps on how often items are covered and tying maximum payments to federal supply schedule prices. The bill funds implementation and phases in Part B premium impacts from 2027 to 2031. Title V greatly increases authorized federal support for the Housing Trust Fund by authorizing $85. 647 billion per year from 2026 through 2035. Title VI creates an open‑ended federal entitlement for “birth through five” child care and early learning.

It guarantees assistance to eligible children under age 6 in states, tribes, and territories that submit approved plans. States must adopt cost‑based payment rates sufficient to cover providers’ fixed and operating costs, use tiered quality systems, raise wages for child‑care staff to at least a living wage comparable to elementary school teachers, and set sliding co‑payments. The federal government provides whatever funds are needed each year, and also awards grants to localities and Head Start agencies and pays limited federal administrative costs.

Title VII authorizes a large, multi‑year federal program to help states ensure every full‑time public school teacher earns at least $60,000 per year as a base salary, with higher pay over a career. States must submit plans describing minimum salary levels, how they will raise per‑pupil spending to support higher pay without increasing class sizes or cutting planning time, and how they will meet equity requirements. Funds are distributed using formulas tied to existing Title I funding patterns, and states must report annually on salaries and progress.

Collective bargaining rights are preserved, and states and districts may still offer extra pay, bonuses, or stipends. Title VIII creates a Medicaid Home and Community‑Based Services (HCBS) Improvement Program. It funds state planning grants to design HCBS improvement plans, defines “direct care workers” and the range of HCBS services, and then increases the federal Medicaid match by 8 percentage points (with a possible extra 2 points for certain self‑directed models) for states that meet access, maintenance‑of‑effort, workforce, and reporting conditions.

States must use added funds to expand HCBS availability, maintain or improve benefit levels and payment rates, improve worker pay and training, reduce waiting lists and access barriers, and better coordinate supports such as housing and employment. The bill also makes permanent existing protections against spousal impoverishment for HCBS users and permanently extends the Money Follows the Person demonstration.

Throughout, the bill appropriates specific amounts for implementation and federal oversight of these new and expanded programs, with many funds available until spent and some provisions ending after specified dates.