What’s proposed is a tax on certain savings and investments. Using the phrase “wealth tax” to describe it is meant to make it sound like it’s aimed only at billionaires or the ultra wealthy. That is a false. The title is misleading.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀: It’s a tax on commonly held savings, investments and small business interests. There is no minimum income threshold, so it is not limited to billionaires. This was a tax 30 counties once had but every one repealed years ago because it was widely acknowledged as double taxation on savings, harmful to small businesses and job creators, unreliable as a revenue source, and broadly unpopular. It was also seen as… illegal.

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁? 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂. Regardless of your income. And of course, you were already taxed when you earned that money. This is an additional tax on a lifetime of hard work, doing the right thing and saving so you do not have to depend on anyone. Maybe you hoped to pass a little on to your kids to give them a head start in life. This is a new tax on those savings.

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗧𝗙𝘀? This is an additional tax on you. Regardless of your income. Another tax on money you were already taxed on when you earned it. If you later sell some stocks and have a capital gain, you will be taxed again. This is an additional tax on your savings.

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻 𝗦 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗟𝗖? This is yet another tax on you. Regardless of your income. You work 50 or 60 hours a week. You already deal with rising costs, regulation, insurance, taxes and constant uncertainty. This adds one more burden. This is an additional tax.

Note: According to the SBA, over half of small employer firms are organized as S corporations (which is explicitly named in the Controllers original paper).

This proposal is not just a tax on billionaires. It reaches common business structures used by truly small businesses every day. No matter how many times they say the same thing over and over it’s still not true.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 “𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵” 𝘁𝗮𝘅. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. It is very important we get this accurate information out to community!

Sources:
**As the Controller’s report (Lehigh County Wealth Tax Analysis, May 1, 2026) notes, “Partnership interests, including ownership stakes in partnerships and S corporations, would generate roughly 75 percent of total revenue**