Billionaire Leon Cooperman told CNBC on Wednesday he believes rich people would find ways to avoid paying Sen. Elizabeth Warren‘s wealth tax if it were to become law. He also argued there are better mechanisms to raise federal government revenue.
“The idea has no merit. It’s foolish. It probably is not legal,” he said on “Squawk Box.”
“If the wealth tax passes, go out and buy yourself some gold because people are going to rush to find ways of hiding their wealth,” Cooperman added.
Cooperman’s appearance came after the Massachusetts Democrat and other progressives in Congress unveiled their plan for an annual tax of 2%, or 2 cents, on every dollar of people’s wealth worth $50 million to $1 billion. Those whose fortunes are valued above $1 billion would be subject to an annual tax of 3%, or 3 cents, on every dollar above that threshold.
The backers of the wealth-tax proposal said it would raise at least $3 trillion in revenue over 10 years, citing an analysis from University of California-Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman. Additionally, Warren’s proposal includes money for the Internal Revenue Service to help with the implementation and enforcement of the wealth tax.
“I believe in the progressive income tax structure. I believe that rich people should pay more,” Cooperman said, but the chairman of the Omega Family Office contended the focus should be on reforming the existing systems to raise money. For example, he said he’s in favor of eliminating the…
