Who Pays: One Ledger, Every Dollar Counted Once

A TIP policy tab. Last updated October 5, 2026. Dollar amounts, ratios and dates are marked TBA until they are scored.

Still in draft. This plank is a working proposal, not final policy. Every dollar amount, rate and target date is TBA. None of TIP's tax proposals has been scored by the Congressional Budget Office or any independent body, and TIP has committed to commission independent modeling before proposing specific rates. The legal wording (the value-added tax, the share-issuance fund, the wealth-tax tiers, and a citizens-only dividend) needs legal review. The federal budget figures are partial-year and will be updated when the full fiscal 2026 numbers are out.

The short version

TIP is making big promises: a monthly dividend, health coverage, housing, schools, food, a Climate and Tourism Corps. A promise without a price is a brochure, so this plank shows the math. Every plank names the source that pays for it, every dollar is counted once, and nothing is promised until independent scorers price it. The outside numbers are lower than TIP's first estimates for some of the taxes, and this plank says so. Every $100 a month of dividend costs about $283 billion a year. If the money falls short, the benefit scales down by a published rule instead of piling on debt. TIP holds itself to the same standard: it is self-funded, takes no outside money, and its candidates fund their own campaigns.

What is happening now

The government already runs a big deficit. In the first 11 months of fiscal 2026 (October to August), receipts were $4.845 trillion, outlays $6.812 trillion and the deficit $1.967 trillion. Net interest on the debt was $1.052 trillion, up 12% from a year earlier (CBO Monthly Budget Review, September 9, 2026). CBO's February projection for the full year is a deficit of $1.9 trillion (5.8% of GDP), revenue of $5.6 trillion and outlays of $7.4 trillion. The full-year numbers come out about October 8 to 10.
The 2025 tax law added to the deficit and cut corporate receipts. CBO estimated on July 21, 2025 that the budget law adds $3.4 trillion to deficits over 2025 to 2034. Corporate income tax collections fell $96 billion, or 25%, in the first 11 months of fiscal 2026, which CBO attributes to larger investment deductions in that law.
The tax code gives away $2.3 trillion a year in breaks. The Joint Committee on Taxation puts fiscal 2026 tax expenditures at $2.3 trillion. The largest are the retirement-savings exclusion ($355 billion), lower rates on dividends and capital gains ($252 billion), the employer health-insurance exclusion ($240 billion), the Child Tax Credit ($128 billion) and ACA subsidies ($105 billion) (CRFB summary of JCT). This is the size of the breaks, not the amount that could be saved.
Health care is already a $5.3 trillion cost. CMS puts 2024 national health spending at $5.3 trillion, 18% of GDP, about $15,474 a person. Federal programs paid about 31%; households, employers and state and local governments paid the rest. CMS projects $5.7 trillion for 2025. Sources differ on the 2024 growth rate, so this plank does not use one.
TIP's own revenue estimates. The 2KUSA plan stacks five layers: an AI and automation royalty ($200 to $400 billion a year), a 10% value-added tax ($1.76 trillion), a stock-dilution fund (1.5% of the value of large companies each year; $1.4 trillion), a land value tax (not modeled) and a reserve of wealth-tax tiers and Prison Conversion revenue for Phase 2. Phase 1, the first three layers, is $3.4 to $3.6 trillion for $1,200 to $1,270 a month to about 236 million adults. The 2KUSA tab says these are not scored.
Outside estimates of a 10% value-added tax are lower than TIP's. CBO's option for a 5% broad-base value-added tax raises $3.38 trillion net over 2026 to 2034, about $375 billion a year, or roughly $750 billion at 10% if it scales (CBO). The Tax Foundation scores a 10% tax at about $1.6 trillion a year on a conventional basis and $1.3 trillion dynamically, and notes real revenue would be lower with typical exemptions. TIP has found no outside source for $1.76 trillion.
The share-issuance fund rests on an advocate's estimate. Scott Santens, the source of the idea, claims about $1.44 trillion a year (June 2026). That implies a base of about $96 trillion. By TIP's arithmetic, the total value of U.S. stocks is about 2.36 times GDP (Wilshire 5000 to GDP, GuruFocus, October 3, 2026), so with GDP near $32 trillion that is about $75 trillion. 1.5% of that is about $1.1 trillion at most, before leaving out firms under $100 million and before any price drop from dilution.
Other revenue ideas are unscored or disputed. OpenAI's April 6, 2026 policy paper proposes moving taxes from payroll toward capital and a public wealth fund seeded by AI companies (TIP has read only a summary of the paper). H.R. 10044, the AI Token Tax and Work Protection Act, was introduced August 6, 2026 with no revenue score. Wealth-tax estimates differ about three to one: Penn Wharton $2.1 trillion over ten years, Saez and Zucman $6.2 trillion (as reported by Reason; the Reason piece is an opinion outlet). No national score for a land value tax has been found.
Cash payments already exist. Alaska's 2026 Permanent Fund Dividend is $1,000 plus a $200 energy relief payment, for nearly 600,000 Alaskans, paid from a fund of $91.9 billion (June 30, 2026).

What the evidence says

A 10% value-added tax raises somewhere between $0.75 and $1.6 trillion a year. The range depends on how much is taxed. CBO's narrower base scores lower; the Tax Foundation's very broad base scores higher. The CRFB also cites a Tax Policy Center figure of about $1.2 trillion and Andrew Yang's claim of $800 billion. (Strong on the range; sources disagree on the base.)
The share-issuance fund tops out near $1.1 trillion. Derived from the value of all U.S. stocks. Dilution also lowers the price of existing shares. (Weak; TIP's own arithmetic, and no outside score.)
Cash payments and work: results differ. In the OpenResearch study, 3,000 people got $1,000 a month for three years. Their earned income fell about $1,900 a year (5 to 6%), they worked one to two fewer hours a week, and labor-market participation fell 4.2 percentage points. In Stockton's $500-a-month pilot, recipients got full-time work at more than twice the control rate, but the sample was 125 people and the study was not peer-reviewed. Finland's 2017-18 trial for unemployed people found no significant first-year employment effect. (Mixed; the large study shows a modest drop in work.)
Medicare for All estimates range widely. CBO (December 2020) found federal health costs $1.5 to $3.0 trillion higher in 2030, but total national health spending from -$0.7 trillion to +$0.3 trillion. Urban estimated $32.0 trillion in new federal cost over 2020 to 2029 and Mercatus $32.6 trillion or more over 2022 to 2031, both assuming cuts to provider payments. A 2020 Lancet and Yale study estimated $450 billion a year in savings. (Strong on the spread; assumptions drive the answer.)
A citizens-only dividend is a legal question. In Zobel v. Williams (1982) the Supreme Court struck down Alaska dividends that varied with how long a person had lived there. TIP has found no authority on a federal citizens-only payment. (Open; needs counsel.)
AI growth may raise revenue even without a new tax. Yale's Budget Lab estimates AI growth would raise federal revenue under the current tax system by $85 billion to $216 billion by 2030, and about half that if gains go mostly to capital. That is not a score of a royalty. (Moderate; undated source.)

How the pieces fit together

One dollar, one job. Each source of money pays for one program. If a source is already counted in one plank, no other plank counts it. This is why housing, school and food costs are not charged to the dividend.
Revenue first, then the promise. A benefit starts only when its source is enacted and scored. If the source falls short, the benefit scales down by a published rule, not by borrowing.
Ranges, not single numbers. Where outside estimates disagree, TIP shows the range and says which end it is using. TIP's own earlier figures that sit above the range are flagged.
The party and the government are different ledgers. TIP the party is self-funded and takes no outside money. The government programs in the planks are paid for with taxes and fees that Congress would have to enact. The two are never mixed.

The ledger

Every plank, one line each. "Status" says whether the funding lane is already published in a plank or is a new proposal in this one.

2KUSA Phase 1. Cost: TIP's tab: $3.4 to $3.6 trillion a year for $1,200 to $1,270 a month. Each $100 a month costs about $283 billion a year (236 million adults). Paid by: AI royalty, value-added tax, share-issuance fund. Outside range: about $0.95 trillion to $3.1 trillion a year, enough for roughly $335 to $1,095 a month. Status: Published in the 2KUSA tab; the amount flexes to scored revenue.
2KUSA Phase 2. Cost: $2,000 a month is about $5.7 trillion a year. Paid by: Land value tax, wealth-tax tiers, Prison Conversion revenue, in a reserve that starts only when the published triggers are met. Status: Published in the 2KUSA tab. Unscored.
Medicare for All. Cost: Outside: $1.5 trillion to about $3.2 trillion a year in new federal cost; not TIP-scored. Paid by: Its own lane: redirect what households, employers and states already pay (by TIP's arithmetic, about $3.7 trillion of the $5.3 trillion in 2024), plus a dedicated health levy (TBA). No 2KUSA dollars. Status: New in this plank. Replaces the Itinerary's "same royalty architecture."
Housing for All. Cost: TBA. First step: $9.6 billion a year (National Alliance to End Homelessness). Paid by: Housing trust fund: corporate housing levy and an income-based contribution. Status: Published in the Housing plank.
Education, Postsecondary, No Hunger. Cost: TBA. Reference points: special-education shortfall $38.66 billion (advocates, 2024-25); the 2025 SNAP changes cut about $187 billion over ten years (CBO). Paid by: The Common Needs Fund: trims to the largest tax breaks, and savings from No More Wars, each counted once. Status: New in this plank. The planks said "a dedicated source, not yet chosen."
Energy bills. Cost: TBA. Reference points: LIHEAP $4.05 billion and weatherization $329 million in fiscal 2026. Paid by: The Common Needs Fund. Data centers pay for their own power, which is not counted here. Status: New in this plank.
AOC Climate and Tourism Corps. Cost: The House bill's scale is 1.5 million members over five years; TIP's rough estimate is $20 to $90 billion a year. TIP has not scored it. Paid by: The Common Needs Fund, plus tourism revenue (TBA). Not TipTriadCoin. Status: New in this plank. Changes the Itinerary, which listed the token economy.
No More Wars. Cost: Savings are unscored. The $3.8 billion a year Israel military aid baseline ends after fiscal 2028 and stays in the general fund, per the Redirect Doctrine. Paid by: Any savings go once into the Common Needs Fund. They are not promised to any other plank. Status: Published in the No More Wars plank.
AI Regulation. Cost: Small; TBA. Paid by: Fees on the largest frontier developers fund the Independent AI Safety Board. Status: New. Separate from the 2KUSA automation royalty.
Democracy. Cost: Small; TBA. Paid by: Ordinary federal appropriations, mainly to the FEC and for election grants to states. Status: New.

The plan: stops on the itinerary

Every amount, ratio and date below is TBA unless noted, as with the other planks. Each stop names the fixed destination and the flexible route.

Stop 1: One dollar, one job

The destination. Every plank names its source of money. No source pays for two programs. A public ledger shows the whole picture.
The route (flexible). Publish the ledger above, update it each quarter, and add any new plank only with its source.
Who pays. No cost. It is bookkeeping.
Target date. TBA.

Stop 2: Score before you promise

The destination. No tax rate and no payment amount goes into a bill until an independent body has priced it. Until then every amount stays TBA.
The route (flexible). TIP commissions independent modeling (as the 2KUSA tab commits) and asks CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation to score the bills. Where the outside range is below TIP's earlier figure, TIP uses the outside range until a score says otherwise.
Who pays. Modeling cost TBA; paid by TIP only for its own work, not by taxpayers.
Target date. TBA.

Stop 3: The dividend lane

The destination. The 2KUSA dividend is paid for by the people's share of AI and automation, a value-added tax, and a share-issuance fund, in the layers the 2KUSA plan sets. The amount flexes to what the scored revenue supports, and the Phase 2 reserve starts only on its published triggers.
The route (flexible). Each $100 a month costs about $283 billion a year. At today's outside range the first three layers fund roughly $335 to $1,095 a month. Rates and the starting amount are TBA. The value-added tax comes with exemptions and a design that returns more to most households than it takes (see Hard questions).
Who pays. Taxes and fees in the 2KUSA plan. Not shared with any other program.
Target date. TBA.

Stop 4: The health lane

The destination. Medicare for All is paid for mostly by redirecting what households, employers and states already spend on health care, plus a dedicated health levy. It does not draw on the dividend.
The route (flexible). The balance between redirected spending and the levy is TBA. TIP asks CBO to score it. The Itinerary's wording ("same royalty architecture") is replaced.
Who pays. Redirected health spending and a health levy. Rate TBA.
Target date. TBA.

Stop 5: The housing lane

The destination. The housing trust fund is paid for by a corporate housing levy and an income-based contribution, and by no other program.
The route (flexible). As set in the Housing plank. Rates TBA.
Who pays. The housing trust fund.
Target date. TBA.

Stop 6: The Common Needs Fund

The destination. One fund pays for schools, food, energy bills and the Corps, so these planks stop saying "a dedicated source, not yet chosen." Its money comes from trimming the largest tax breaks for the largest filers and from No More Wars savings, each counted once.
The route (flexible). TIP names which tax breaks to trim only after scoring. The JCT total ($2.3 trillion) is the size of the breaks, not a savings estimate. Spending priorities between planks are TBA.
Who pays. Tax-break reform and defense savings. Both unscored.
Target date. TBA.

Stop 7: Those who cause a cost pay it

The destination. Data centers pay for their power. The biggest AI developers pay for the commission that tests them. Money Congress already approved for the Puerto Rico grid is spent, not re-asked.
The route (flexible). See Energy and Climate and AI Regulation. These payments are not counted in the dividend or the Common Needs Fund.
Who pays. The companies. For Puerto Rico, FEMA funds already obligated.
Target date. TBA.

Stop 8: If the money falls short, the benefit scales down

The destination. No TIP program starts before its source is enacted. If revenue comes in under the plan, the benefit falls by a published formula. TIP does not cover the gap with new borrowing.
The route (flexible). The formula and the review schedule are TBA. For the dividend, the Phase 2 triggers stay as published.
Who pays. No cost.
Target date. TBA.

Stop 9: The party pays for itself

The destination. TIP is self-funded and takes no outside money. Supporters give directly to TIP's candidates, and candidates fund their own campaigns. TipTriadCoin is a governance token. It is not a source of tax or federal revenue and does not pay for any government program.
The route (flexible). TIP keeps its costs low and may pay annually to reduce them. This does not change with any other stop.
Who pays. TIP, from its own funds.
Target date. TBA.

Stop 10: Show the books

The destination. The ledger, every score and every update are public, with the date and source for every figure.
The route (flexible). Post the ledger on the site and republish it whenever a number changes.
Who pays. Low cost.
Target date. TBA.

Hard questions

"Isn't a 10% value-added tax unfair to people with low incomes?" A value-added tax takes a share of spending, and the dividend is a flat payment, so most households may come out ahead. A rough rule: at a dividend of $14,400 a year, a person comes out ahead if they pay the tax on less than $144,000 of purchases a year, before any exemption for food or other items and ignoring any rise in prices. The Tax Foundation notes real revenue would be lower with typical exemptions. Distribution has not been scored.
"$3.5 trillion is half the budget. Can it be done?" It is about 46% to 49% of the $7.4 trillion CBO projected for total federal spending in fiscal 2026. The outside range for Phase 1 is lower than TIP's figure, which is why the plank says the amount flexes to scored revenue and why Phase 1 may start smaller. TIP does not claim it is easy.
"Won't a monthly payment make people quit work?" The best large study found a modest drop: about 1 to 2 hours a week and about 5 to 6% of earned income. Stockton found the opposite in a small pilot. TIP pairs the dividend with the Corps for people who want work and will publish work data as it comes.
"Who bears the cost of the share-issuance fund?" Existing shareholders, including pension and retirement funds, because new shares dilute them. TIP has not found a legal or securities analysis of this design, and asks counsel and independent scorers to look before it goes into a bill.
"Is a citizens-only dividend legal?" Unknown. The one directly relevant case, Zobel v. Williams, concerned state dividends tied to length of residency. Counsel must answer.
"Why not just tax billionaires?" TIP's reserve includes wealth-tax tiers. But estimates differ about three to one (Penn Wharton against Saez and Zucman), there are constitutional questions about a federal wealth tax, and critics say people move or hide assets. TIP uses the tier only in Phase 2.
"Why show a range and not one number?" Because the outside sources disagree, and TIP would rather be right than precise. When a score arrives, TIP replaces the range with it.

Still to be set (TBA)

Every tax rate. The dividend's starting amount. The health levy rate and mix. The housing levy and contribution rates. Which tax breaks are trimmed. The shortfall formula. The independent scorer. TIP will publish the scoring when it exists.

Sources

CBO: Monthly Budget Review, August 2026, September 9, 2026 (cbo.gov/publication/61984); CBO: The Budget and Economic Outlook 2026 to 2036, February 11, 2026 (cbo.gov/publication/61882)
BEA: GDP third estimate, second quarter 2026, September 30, 2026 (bea.gov)
CBO: Budget options, impose a 5 percent value-added tax (cbo.gov/budget-options/60961); Tax Foundation: Introduce a 10 percent value-added tax (taxfoundation.org); CRFB: Would a 10% VAT pay for a $1,000 a month UBI? (crfb.org)
Scott Santens: How do we pay for universal basic income, tax stock the way companies issue it, June 6, 2026 (scottsantens.com); GuruFocus: U.S. total market cap to GDP (gurufocus.com)
CBO: Estimated budgetary effects of Public Law 119-21, July 21, 2025 (cbo.gov/publication/61570)
CRFB: JCT projects tax expenditures will be $2.3 trillion in 2026, February 9, 2026 (crfb.org)
CMS national health expenditures 2024 via Home Health Care News, January 2026; American Action Forum analysis; AHA, June 25, 2026 (CMS 2025 projection)
CBO: Single-Payer Health Care Systems, December 2020 (cbo.gov/system/files/2020-12/56811-Single-Payer.pdf); Mercatus: How Urban Institute's estimates of Medicare for All compare (mercatus.org); Scientific American on the Yale study
Alaska Department of Revenue: 2026 Permanent Fund Dividend amount, September 28, 2026 (dor.alaska.gov); Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation: 2026 annual report (apfc.org)
OpenResearch and NBER working paper w32719 (nber.org); VATT: Finnish basic income experiment (vatt.fi); Stockton SEED (stocktondemonstration.org)
Zobel v. Williams, 457 U.S. 55 (1982) (findlaw.com)
Unite.AI: OpenAI proposes robot taxes, public wealth fund and four-day work week (summary of the April 6, 2026 paper); TechTimes: Casar's AI Token Tax and Work Protection Act, August 2026; Yale Budget Lab: How potential AI futures would play out in the current tax system (budgetlab.yale.edu)
Reason: The hidden costs of Elizabeth Warren's Ultra-Millionaire Tax, March 27, 2026 (opinion; secondary); Penn Wharton Budget Model, 2019 wealth tax analysis (knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu)
TIP: 2KUSA tab (updated); Housing for All, Education for All, Postsecondary Pathways, No Hunger and No More Wars planks; The TIP Itinerary: 2028 (draft)