(Steve Buisin / AIX)
A Bombing Report by ProPublica Based on the huge leaked tax returns of the US ultra-rich, it has become clear that some of the richest men in the world pay little or no income taxes.
According to the report, the 25 richest Americans, like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Tesla’s Elon Musk, are so-called “true” for just 3.4% of their wealth – even with a billion dollar fortune. The “tax rate” is paid at a flat rate.
Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) said he wasn’t shocked by the report when it was released last week.
“We have a regressive and unfair tax system. We are corrupt where wealthy people can make huge election donations and have lobbyists of all kinds here on Capitol Hill. We have a political system, ”said Sanders. “And when you’re rich, there are dozens of lawyers and accountants out there who can help you exploit any loopholes unlike ordinary workers.”
The key to understanding how millionaires can legally pay little income tax compared to their huge wealth is that tax law focuses on income rather than wealth. ..
Charlotte Crane, law professor and tax law expert at Northwestern University, said the most common way to avoid paying taxes is to “just get rich and not pay interest or dividends, but pay creditors. Is to receive one’s wealth in such a way that one is ready to accept it. ”“
It enables wealthy individuals to borrow money for their wealth. Also, money borrowed is not counted as income, so wealthy people can lead luxurious lifestyles without reporting their income to the IRS.
One of the problems with cranes trying to tax the ultra-rich is that it is difficult to pinpoint their value unless the assets are actually sold when the assets that make up most of the wealth are not listed. This is. It is often impossible for the IRS to assess the value of an asset and its change over time for tax purposes because many of the high net worth assets are not publicly traded, or in some cases even disclosed.
“Measuring this change in value is really problematic,” said Crane. “And the richer you are, the easier it is to confuse the change in value.”
Crane, who worked for the IRS senior law firm from 2010 to 2011, said the increasing complexity of tax law resulted in IRS auditors often being deceived by wealthy accountants. It was. The IRS itself estimates that at least $ 400 billion in taxes is not collected every year, which could go as high as $ 1 trillion, according to a testimony before the Senate Finance Committee in April. It is said that there is.
Since joining the IRS, Crane has said clearly, “Even lawyers who are supposed to help auditors understand how these things work don’t have the resources to train them. I did. ”
Note: this story will be updated in the video.
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