Rep. Omar Backs AOC In 70 Percent Marginal Tax On Rich

WASHINGTON, D.C. — One of Minnesota's new representatives in Congress has joined the fraught debate over federal taxes on America's wealthiest citizens. Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents Minneapolis and some of its suburbs, has come out in support of the 70 percent marginal tax rate floated by fellow freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The proposed tax rate would apply to money made after $10 million.

"If you're earning more than $10 million, those earnings should be taxed at 70%," Omar tweeted Tuesday.

"We could increase the taxes that people are paying who are the extremely wealthy in our communities. So 70 percent, 80 percent, we've had it as high as 90 percent," Omar said in an interview on Yahoo's web series, "Through Her Eyes."

"The 1 percent must pay their fair share."

Omar was sworn in last month as the representative from Minnesota's 5th Congressional District, making her the first Somali-American member of Congress, the first woman of color to represent Minnesota, and one of the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress.

Photo: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) (L) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) (C) join their fellow House Democratic women for a portrait in front of the U.S. Capitol January 04, 2019 in Washington, DC. The 116th Congress has the biggest number of female members ever while the number of Democratic women in the House has grown from 16 to 89 since 1989. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)