De Blasio doubles down on his tax-the-wealthy plan

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has said it before, and he's saying it again: he wants to "tax the hell out of the wealthy."

De Blasio is peddling a proposal during his 2020 Presidential campaign similar to what has been floated by progressives in the Democratic party – including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – to tax the wealthiest Americans at a top combined rate of 70 percent.

For people that make over $2 million in income, de Blasio is proposing a combined top tax rate of 70 percent.

“I want working-class people and middle-class people to have a better life,” de Blasio said previously. “The rich have gotten richer for 40 years and paid less and less in taxes.”

The rich have gotten richer for 40 years and paid less and less in taxes.

- New York City Mayor and Democratic presidential hopeful Bill de Blasio

De Blasio  — a longshot contender for the 2020 Democratic nomination — doubled down on this tax plan on FOX Business' "Bulls & Bears" on Tuesday, including promoting his website TaxTheHell.com.

"It's provocative on purpose," de Blasio said. "For 40 years, the people of this country, middle-class people, working-class people have either been stuck economically or going backwards. That is the larger truth of what we've experienced."

De Blasio said as he's traveled the country during his campaign, he has heard from Americans that they are concerned the next generation is going to do worse than they did.

"Part of what I think we have to address is the reality that a very small number of people have gotten richer and richer and paid less and less in taxes including the recent actions taken over the last couple of years in Washington," de Blasio said.

A very small number of people have gotten richer and richer and paid less and less in taxes.

- New York City Mayor and Democratic presidential hopeful Bill de Blasio

As of now, the top one percent of Americans pay about 37 percent in taxes, however, de Blasio insisted we compare the marginal tax rate back to when America was working fairly for working-class Americans. He believes the system we're functioning under currently is not fair for them.

"It was a time when the American economy was booming and growing and there was relative shared prosperity," de Blasio said. "I think there's a direct correlation to having the kind of tax level that gives the federal government that opportunity."

De Blasio said if a Democrat is elected, he hopes the new president will roll back President Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations and to restore the state and local tax (SALT) deductions.

De Blasio has described his tax plan as “the most aggressive” among the field of Democrats running for the party’s nomination. De Blasio’s “Fair Share Tax Plan” includes the following proposals (among others):

• One percent tax on assets between $10 million and $25 million
• Two percent tax on wealth of $25 million to $100 million
• Three percent tax on households with assets in excess of $100 million
• 50 percent tax on household income between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000
• 60 percent tax on income in excess of $2,000,000
• When combined with state and local taxes and the Medicare tax, the total top tax rate on the richest one percent would be roughly 70 percent

According to de Blasio’s tax plan website, his comprehensive plan – including changes to capital gains – would raise $2.4 trillion over the course of a decade.

As previously reported by FOX Business, experts have pointed to a myriad of flaws with implementing such a high top rate – including the fact that the wealthiest Americans have the ability to move, taking their tax revenue with them.

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De Blasio said he would like to see the corporate tax rate – which now sits at 21 percent – raised to a rate between 40 percent and 50 percent.

Brittany De Lea contributed to this report.