Bernie Sanders Blasts Dems Over 'Large Tax Breaks to Millionaires'

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., hit out at Democrats this week over the changes to the state and local tax deduction in the Build Back Better budget plan, which he said amounts to "large tax breaks to millionaires."

"It’s bad politics," Sanders told CNN’s Manu Raju at the Capitol on Thursday, the day before the House vote on the legislation. 

"The Democrats correctly have campaigned on the understanding that amidst massive income and wealth inequality, we’ve got to demand the wealthy start paying their fair share, not give them more tax breaks," he added. "Bottom line: We have to help the middle class, not the 1%."

He tweeted that same day: "Let me say it again. You can’t be a political party that talks about demanding the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, and then end up with a bill that gives large tax breaks to millionaires. You can’t do that. The hypocrisy is too strong. It’s bad policy, it’s bad politics."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said earlier that day at her regular weekly press conference that she will push for the increased cap, according to Business Insider.

"This isn't about who gets a tax cut, it's about which states get the revenue they need in order to meet the needs of the people," she said. "That is a fight that I will continue to make."

Sanders said in a statement that "at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, the last thing we should be doing is giving more tax breaks to the very rich. Democrats campaigned and won on an agenda that demands that the very wealthy finally pay their fair share, not one that gives them more tax breaks. I am open to a compromise approach, which protects the middle class in high-tax states. I will not support more tax breaks for billionaires." 

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