Does James Talarico support a wealth tax?

James Talarico said he is interested in what kind of wealth tax could actually be implemented and would explore every avenue to make the richest Americans pay their fair share, while admitting there are implementation challenges. He argued that change must come federally, because Texas has no state income tax and he does not want one. He also cited an estimate that simply collecting taxes already owed by the top 1% would raise about $172 billion a year.

• Talarico noted the US had a top marginal tax rate of 90% in the 1950s but said it need not be that high again.
• Talarico named Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos as three men holding more wealth than the entire middle class.
• Talarico praised Mark Cuban and Cost Plus Drugs as an example of a billionaire using wealth to help working people.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett (2026-11-02). Read the whole episode summary →

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