Former Utah Senator Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, endorsed a longtime progressive call to raise taxes on the wealthy in a New York Times opinion piece on Friday, writing, “On the tax front, it’s time for rich people like me to pay more.”
Why It Matters
Romney’s remarks place a prominent Republican voice on the same side of an issue long championed by some progressive Democrats, underscoring shifting political dynamics around taxes and wealth inequality.
As a party figure, both in the Senate and governorship, traditionally associated with tax cuts and fiscal conservatism, Romney’s call for higher taxes on the wealthy challenges party orthodoxy and highlights growing bipartisan acknowledgment of public concern over deficits, economic inequality and the concentration of wealth.
His comments come as tax policy is at the center of debate in Washington D.C., with lawmakers weighing the future of how to fund federal priorities amid mounting national debt amid public concern about the economy.
What To Know
The former senator, who served from 2019 to 2025, framed his argument as a break with traditional partisan lines, writing, “Typically, Democrats insist on higher taxes, and Republicans insist on lower spending. But given the magnitude of our national debt as well as the proximity of the cliff, both are necessary.”
He then said he had reversed a long-held view on raising the income cap on which Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) payroll taxes are applied, writing in his opinion article, “I long opposed increasing the income level on which FICA employment taxes are applied (this year, the cap is $176,100). No longer; the consequences of the cliff have changed my mind.”
From there, Romney pointed to how capital gains are treated at death, using a hypothetical involving billionaire Elon Musk, and argued the current system allows some of the wealthiest Americans to avoid paying taxes on billions of dollars, saying it should be “sealed for mega-estates over $100 million.”
He maintained his pro-capitalist views but argued, “I believe in free enterprise, and I believe all Americans should be able to strive for financial success. But we have reached a point where any mix of solutions to our nation’s economic problems is going to involve the wealthiest Americans contributing more.”
He ended by urging Republicans to adopt the approach, writing, “If my party wants to be the one to give working- and middle-class Americans greater opportunity — to be the party that is trying to restore some sense of confidence in our capitalist system — this would be a start.”
What People Are Saying
Armand Domalewski, cohost of a political podcast Everybody Gets Pie, wrote in an X post on Friday: “Mitt Romney would never win a GOP nomination today, but if he was actually the nominee he’d win the general in a landslide.”
Economist and Harvard professor Jason Furman wrote in a Friday X post: “The deficit is more daunting than it was than it was when Romney ran for President in 2012. I’m glad to see him updating, appreciating that taxes should be part of the solution. And not just minor tax ‘loopholes,’ he wants to seal the ‘tax caverns.'”
Melanie D’Arrigo, the executive director for the Campaign for New York Health, wrote in a Friday X post: “When Mitt Romney falls to the left of centrist Democrats.”
Former Ohio state Senator Nina Turner, a Democrat, wrote in an X post Friday: “’Moderate’ Democrats are being outflanked by Mitt Romney on taxing the rich.”
Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff to New York Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, wrote in an X post Friday: “Even Mitt Romney now agrees that we need to tax the wealthiest. I call for a wealth tax on our billionaires and centimillionaires. Yet my main opponent in a Congressional race in San Francisco (who is a Democrat!) won’t say we need to tax the rich.”
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote in an X post: “Me and my old rival Mitt Romney finally agree on something — it’s time to close the loophole that lets the ultra-wealthy use death to cheat taxes.”
What Happens Next
Earlier this year, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which includes some tax changes that will go into effect next year.
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