False claim: Bernie Sanders proposes raising tax rate to 52% on incomes above $29,000

Multiple posts on social media make the claim that 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is proposing a 52% tax rate on incomes above $29,000 a year. Examples of the claim appear on Facebook here , Instagram here , Twitter here , and Reddit here .

The posts give a breakdown of the potential impacts of this extreme tax-hike alongside one of Sanders’ signature proposals: the increase of the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour (see here) . Some of the posts claim that Sanders said he proposed a 52% tax raise at the ninth Democratic debate, hosted on February 19, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Some posts claim the reason for this hike is to finance another one of Sanders' signature policies, Medicare for All, a single-payer national health insurance plan (as referenced berniesanders.com/issues/ ).

A full transcript here of the debate here shows that “$29,000” was only said twice, by former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg. There were no instances of anybody saying “52%”. Buttigieg's comments on Sanders' alleged proposed tax increase on incomes above $29,000 is likely part of the inspiration for the claim made on social media.

Buttigieg first scrutinized Sanders’ alleged plan to raise taxes for incomes above $29,000. Around the 37-minute mark of the debate (as seen in the video here ), Buttigieg said: