Romney calls for higher taxes on wealthy in New York Times op-ed [View all]

Source: The Hill

12/19/25 3:12 PM ET


Former Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Friday in a New York Times op-ed that “it’s time for rich people like me to pay more” in taxes ahead of the Social Security benefits cut projected for 2034.

Romney wrote that political ads in 2012, when he ran for president against then-incumbent President Obama, suggested his policy proposals would push “grandma off a cliff.”

“Today, all of us, including our grandmas, truly are headed for a cliff: If, as projected, the Social Security Trust Fund runs out in the 2034 fiscal year, benefits will be cut by about 23 percent,” he warned. “The government will need trillions of dollars to make up the shortfall.” “And on the tax front,” he later wrote, “it’s time for rich people like me to pay more.”

Romney said he no longer opposes increasing taxes on wealthier Americans and argued that the biggest “source of additional tax revenues is also probably the most compelling for fairness and social stability.” “Some call it closing tax code loopholes, but the term ‘loopholes’ grossly understates their scale,” he continued. “‘Caverns’ or ‘caves’ would be more fitting.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/business/economy/5657367-romney-proposes-wealth-tax/