WASHINGTON, July 14 — Two proposals, following the April 1, 2025 release of a Pew poll, are now working their way through the U.S. Congress, each taking a distinct approach to the question of how — and whether — to tax the country’s rapidly expanding artificial intelligence industry. Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, introduced the AI Wealth Tax Act on April 5, 2025. The bill would impose a 5% annual tax on the net worth of AI companies that hold assets over $1 billion.
It has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee. A separate bill arrived five days later.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, proposed the AI Dividend Act on April 10, 2025. Her legislation would create a fund, financed by taxes on the AI industry, to send annual payments of $1,000 to every American adult. The two bills share a common premise — that the economic gains from artificial intelligence should not accrue solely to the companies building it.
But they diverge sharply on what to do with the revenue. Sanders’s proposal is a direct wealth tax on the largest players.
Ocasio-Cortez’s bill is a redistribution mechanism, sending cash directly to citizens.
Uncertain Path Through a Republican House
Both proposals face long odds. The House of Representatives is controlled by Republicans. The Congressional Budget Office has weighed in, estimating that such taxes could generate between $50 billion and $100 billion annually, depending on the rate and the asset threshold applied.
That range — wide as it is — underscores the uncertainty surrounding any effort to tax an industry that is itself still defining its shape. The CBO’s estimate gives lawmakers a fiscal baseline, but it does not account for the political resistance that any new tax on a high-growth sector is likely to encounter.
The scene on the Hill, by nightfall on a typical July workday, is one of quiet maneuvering. Staffers for both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been working to build support, but the committees of jurisdiction — Senate Finance for Sanders’s bill, and likely the House Ways and Means Committee for Ocasio-Cortez’s — have not scheduled hearings.
Two Visions, One Industry
Residents of the policy world describe the two bills as representing fundamentally different philosophies. The AI Wealth Tax Act targets the balance sheets of the companies themselves. It is, in effect, a levy on concentrated corporate wealth.
The AI Dividend Act, by contrast, treats the AI industry as a collective asset, one whose profits should be shared broadly with the public. Neither bill has been marked up or amended.
Both remain in their original form, awaiting action that may not come before the next election cycle. The clock is running: the 119th Congress is now in its second session, and legislative windows narrow sharply as November approaches. What to watch next is committee activity — or the absence of it.
If either bill receives a hearing, it would signal a shift in the political conversation around AI taxation. If neither does, the proposals may remain, for now, a statement of intent rather than a legislative reality.
Sources
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