WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has announced an "income inequality" plan calling for tax increases on companies that pay CEOs far more than their workers' median salaries.
The Vermont senator's proposal, unveiled Monday, would raise taxes 0.5 percentage points on companies paying top executives more than 50 times the median salaries of workers. Tax penalties would rise up to 5 percentage points for firms whose highest-paid official earns 500-plus times median worker pay.
The plan would apply to all private and publicly held corporations with annual revenues of $100 million. Sanders' campaign says it would raise $150 billion over the next decade, which he would use to eliminate medical debt nationwide.
Sanders says the public demands that profitable corporations "pay their fair share of taxes."
FILE - Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., waves to supporters as he arrives at a rally at Santa Monica High School Memorial Greek Amphitheater in Santa Monica, Calif., July 26, 2019.