The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax

[laylalex 7,301]

Quote

 

In 2007, Jeff Bezos, then a multibillionaire and now the world’s richest man, did not pay a penny in federal income taxes. He achieved the feat again in 2011. In 2018, Tesla founder Elon Musk, the second-richest person in the world, also paid no federal income taxes.

Michael Bloomberg managed to do the same in recent years. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn did it twice. George Soros paid no federal income tax three years in a row.

ProPublica has obtained a vast trove of Internal Revenue Service data on the tax returns of thousands of the nation’s wealthiest people, covering more than 15 years. The data provides an unprecedented look inside the financial lives of America’s titans, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg. It shows not just their income and taxes, but also their investments, stock trades, gambling winnings and even the results of audits.

Taken together, it demolishes the cornerstone myth of the American tax system: that everyone pays their fair share and the richest Americans pay the most. The IRS records show that the wealthiest can — perfectly legally — pay income taxes that are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, their fortunes grow each year.

 

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax

 

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,397]

My biggest question is who committed a felony by releasing this info, oddly enough timed to coincide with the Dems plan to tax the rich. Also they committed no crimes and contributed billions in tax funds

[moxy 1,051]

31 minutes ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

My biggest question is who committed a felony by releasing this info, oddly enough timed to coincide with the Dems plan to tax the rich. Also they committed no crimes and contributed billions in tax funds

A patriot.

[laylalex 7,301]

The article is very clear that no crimes were committed by the taxpayers. But personally, as someone who pays less tax on my passive income proportionately than my husband who very much works for his salary and bonus, I find it colossally dumb that the effective rates of taxation are so low. I know that the usual response to this is, "but you can always pay more!" as if that solves the problem because I, as an individual, could always write a bigger check. We have a wealth problem in this country. An improved tax system that can capture wealth in addition to active income is overdue. Believe me, people like me and people far richer than me will not suffer from a little more off the top in order to fund much needed capital improvements to this country's infrastructure.

 

Jeff Bezos doesn't "need" a superyacht. We need roads and bridges and reliable internet access. Food to put in the bellies of hungry kids and teachers to teach them in buildings that aren't crumbling. We need affordable health care and to take care of our veterans with the respect and dignity that they have more than earned. 

[LIBrty4all 3,754]

Adam Schiff knows a guy.  Stand by to stand by...

 

So let me get this straight... a "true tax" is when you take the net unrealized gain of a portfolio and divide it by one's net worth?  Meaning I should pay taxes on money I have never seen, touched, nor used yet?  So it's a tax on... thin air?

[moxy 1,051]

Just now, laylalex said:

The article is very clear that no crimes were committed by the taxpayers. But personally, as someone who pays less tax on my passive income proportionately than my husband who very much works for his salary and bonus, I find it colossally dumb that the effective rates of taxation are so low. I know that the usual response to this is, "but you can always pay more!" as if that solves the problem because I, as an individual, could always write a bigger check. We have a wealth problem in this country. An improved tax system that can capture wealth in addition to active income is overdue. Believe me, people like me and people far richer than me will not suffer from a little more off the top in order to fund much needed capital improvements to this country's infrastructure.

 

Jeff Bezos doesn't "need" a superyacht. We need roads and bridges and reliable internet access. Food to put in the bellies of hungry kids and teachers to teach them in buildings that aren't crumbling. We need affordable health care and to take care of our veterans with the respect and dignity that they have more than earned. 

To be clear, even if AOC and Bernie were to just magically get their dream legislation through, I don't believe you'd be affected by it @laylalex. Or maybe you would... if you're in the top 0.1% (if memory serves).

 

Also, if AOC and Bernie were to just magically get their dream legislation through, Bezos could STILL have his super yacht and be just as comfortable and well-off as he is now. Taxing the rich doesn't mean impoverishing the rich. It just means changing the tax code to make them pay their fair share and get rid of these absurd loopholes that were written into the law by the rich, for the rich.

 

For every single person on this forum, for your friends, your family, and everyone you know, tax the rich doesn't affect you one bit. Oh, except maybe eventually you'll have health care if you can't afford it now.

[LIBrty4all 3,754]

The article isn't about taxing the rich, it's about creating a divide.  It's a fantasy dream about taxing money that hasn't been made yet.  

[laylalex 7,301]

I am just always so amazed that the middle class is willing to fight for the super-rich to get even richer -- at their own expense. It's like Stockholm syndrome or something.

[moxy 1,051]

36 minutes ago, laylalex said:

I am just always so amazed that the middle class is willing to fight for the super-rich to get even richer -- at their own expense. It's like Stockholm syndrome or something.

So much agreed. The federal minimum wage has been $7.25/hour for the last 12 years, but it's just so greedy that anyone making that might want to actually make a living wage. But talk about Jeff Bezos who will never, ever, ever be able to spend the wealth he's got right now, paying a fair proportion of his wealth, and so many pearls hit the pavement from all the clutching you'd think it was a Batman origin story.

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,397]

11 hours ago, laylalex said:

The article is very clear that no crimes were committed by the taxpayers. But personally, as someone who pays less tax on my passive income proportionately than my husband who very much works for his salary and bonus, I find it colossally dumb that the effective rates of taxation are so low. I know that the usual response to this is, "but you can always pay more!" as if that solves the problem because I, as an individual, could always write a bigger check. We have a wealth problem in this country. An improved tax system that can capture wealth in addition to active income is overdue. Believe me, people like me and people far richer than me will not suffer from a little more off the top in order to fund much needed capital improvements to this country's infrastructure.

 

Jeff Bezos doesn't "need" a superyacht. We need roads and bridges and reliable internet access. Food to put in the bellies of hungry kids and teachers to teach them in buildings that aren't crumbling. We need affordable health care and to take care of our veterans with the respect and dignity that they have more than earned. 

Bezos built his fortune from the ground up . who are you to decide he dose not need a yacht. Maybe someone will decide i dont really need 2 new cars

[Dashinka 25,487]

13 hours ago, moxy said:

A patriot.

Wouldn't it had only been a patriot if they uncovered a crime had been committed?

11 hours ago, laylalex said:

The article is very clear that no crimes were committed by the taxpayers. But personally, as someone who pays less tax on my passive income proportionately than my husband who very much works for his salary and bonus, I find it colossally dumb that the effective rates of taxation are so low. I know that the usual response to this is, "but you can always pay more!" as if that solves the problem because I, as an individual, could always write a bigger check. We have a wealth problem in this country. An improved tax system that can capture wealth in addition to active income is overdue. Believe me, people like me and people far richer than me will not suffer from a little more off the top in order to fund much needed capital improvements to this country's infrastructure.

 

Jeff Bezos doesn't "need" a superyacht. We need roads and bridges and reliable internet access. Food to put in the bellies of hungry kids and teachers to teach them in buildings that aren't crumbling. We need affordable health care and to take care of our veterans with the respect and dignity that they have more than earned. 

I'll bet the people that build it are happy.

[moxy 1,051]

Just now, Dashinka said:

Wouldn't it had only been a patriot if they uncovered a crime had been committed?

I don't believe that's how patriotism is defined.

[Dashinka 25,487]

10 hours ago, laylalex said:

I am just always so amazed that the middle class is willing to fight for the super-rich to get even richer -- at their own expense. It's like Stockholm syndrome or something.

Are they getting rich at anyone's expense, or are they providing a good or service that people want?  Should we just transition to the Start Trek universe where everything is free?

[Dashinka 25,487]

1 minute ago, moxy said:

I don't believe that's how patriotism is defined.

So then your patriot is potentially a criminal?  Regardless, the folks on the list tend to be very supportive of Democrat/Leftist causes, why are they not simply writing a bigger check to the US government?  I know, the feds have to force them along with everyone else (not just the rich) to pay more taxes.

[moxy 1,051]

17 minutes ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

Bezos built his fortune from the ground up . who are you to decide he dose not need a yacht. Maybe someone will decide i dont really need 2 new cars

I won't put words in @laylalex's mouth, but nobody on the left is saying they get to decide that Bezos doesn't need a yacht. Under even the most liberal taxation plan, Bezos could build ten of his super-yachts and never even feel any additional taxation. It would be like finding a few nickels under the couch cushions.

 

In fact... Jeff Bezos is so obscenely wealthy, he could build over 300 of his super yachts, and still be worth 50 billion dollars, and that's not even counting the wealth he continues to acquire. (meanwhile, his employees literally have to pee in bottles to relieve themselves and keep their jobs... but yes, let's put our energy into defending the Lex Luthor man)

 

My personal feeling is that there should be a cap on net worth (basically a 100% tax on anything above some magic number), but even the most liberal proponents of fair taxation on the most wealthy aren't proposing that.