The 25 richest Americans are rolling huge sums, an investigation has shown
The 25 richest Americans, including Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett and Elon Musk, paid a small and sometimes no tax, according to an investigation by the American publication ProPublica.
The information shows that the head of Amazon, which has 185 billion dollars, did not pay taxes in 2007 and 2011, and the third richest man in the world – Elon Musk ($ 152 billion), did not pay anything in 2018
According to Forbes magazine, these 25 people are
increased
your condition
from 401 billion
dollars from 2014
until 2018
They have paid a total of 13.6 billion federal income taxes in those five years. This is a staggering amount, but it is only 3.4% of the real tax rate.
In contrast, the average income tax rate that Americans are taxed on is 14%. The highest rate is 37%. However, the richest people are very far from it.
The investigation found that investor Warren Buffett paid $ 23.7 million in taxes from 2014 to 2018. But Buffett’s wealth increased by $ 24.3 billion during that period, meaning he paid only 0.1%. of the actual amount due to the budget.
Jeff Bezos’ fortune has grown by $ 99 billion over the four-year period, but Amazon’s boss has paid only 0.98 percent in taxes. Elon Musk and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg paid only 3.27 and 1.3%, respectively.
The famous investor George
Soros is not
paid 3 years
federal tax
on income
between 2016 and 2018. His company said he owed nothing for several years due to investment losses.
Carl Icahn, the 40th richest man in the United States, with $ 14.9 billion, failed to pay his debts to the treasury in 2016 and 2017.
The rich Americans are taking advantage of tax avoidance strategies. One of the tricks is that their money comes from the rapidly growing value of their assets such as stocks and property. However, these profits are not defined by US law as taxable income, unless and until billionaires sell them.
“We were quite surprised to learn that you can lower your (tax) to zero if you are a multi-billionaire. The actual payment of zero tax really struck us.
The super-rich
people can
to bypass
the system on
completely legal
way ”,
said Jesse Eisenger, a ProPublica reporter. He also explained his investigation with an example through Warren Buffett. According to the journalist, the billionaire investor pays only $ 0.10 in tax for every $ 100 he earns. The average American, who makes $ 60,000 to $ 70,000 a year, pays 14 percent, so he gives the budget $ 14 out of every $ 100 he makes.
“The bigger picture here is that the whole world of their wealth, what gives them power, what allows them to keep control of their companies, is untouched by the tax system,” Eisenger said. According to him, the rich have a huge opportunity to take benefits, loans and operate the doors in the system so as not to pay. Thus, although the value of their wealth actually grows significantly through ownership of shares in their companies, this is not recorded as income.
Billionaires can write off losses against their income, sometimes even using income tax returns on their own sports teams to pay less tax.
“They also receive aggressive tax breaks often because
borrow money for
to finance
your way
of life ”,
says the journalist. Billionaires in the United States buy assets, create them, or inherit billions, and then take out loans against that wealth. As they do not make any profits or sell any shares, they do not receive any taxable income.
“Then they borrow from a bank at a relatively low interest rate, live on it, and can use interest expenses as a tax deduction,” Eisenger said.
“We know that more needs to be done to ensure that corporations, the highest-income earners, pay more than their fair share,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a briefing. A Finance Ministry spokesman said the unauthorized disclosure of confidential government information was illegal, adding that
The question is
was taken away
to the FBI and
federal
prosecutors
in Washington.
ProPublica received a huge amount of data from the IRS on the tax returns of thousands of the richest people in the United States, covering more than 15 years. According to investigative journalists, the data offer an unprecedented look at the financial life of American titans. It shows not only their income and taxes, but also their investments, stock transactions, gambling profits and even the results of audits.
According to ProPublica, taken together, it destroys the cornerstone myth of the American tax system: that everyone pays their fair share, and the richest Americans pay the most.
The revelations come amid Biden’s proposal to raise taxes for the wealthiest to fund certain projects and plans. He proposes raising the highest tax rate for those with an income of $ 400,000 or more in taxable income to 39.6%, which would affect less than 2% of US households.
– .
