jake bernie
Bernie Sanders clarifies tax stance
01:51 - Source: CNN
Washington CNN  — 

Bernie Sanders says America’s wealthiest individuals and large corporations would face tax hikes if he’s elected president.

The Vermont senator who’s closed the gap on Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential race said Sunday he’d use that money to pay for infrastructure, job creation and college costs.

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union,” Sanders complained of oil subsidies, companies stashing revenue overseas to avoid taxes and billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s secretary paying a higher tax rate than he does.

“Clearly, that has got to change,” Sanders said.

He said the United States needs rules that would “dampen down the speculation on Wall Street,” and that he’d like to break up Wall Street’s biggest financial institutions.

And, he said, he’d “substantially” raise taxes.

“Yes, we have to raise individual tax rates substantially higher than they are today because almost all of the new income is going to the top 1%,” Sanders said.

“And yes, those folks and large corporations will have to pay under a Sanders administration more in taxes so that we can use that revenue to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, create the jobs we need, make sure that every kid who has the ability is able to get a college education in America because public colleges and public universities will be tuition-free,” he said.

Asked about the type of people who would make up his cabinet, Sanders ticked off the names of three liberal economists: New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winner Joseph Stiglitz and former Bill Clinton labor secretary Robert Reich.