The rich in America pay lower taxes

On Tuesday, the Propablica website published an article based on detailed leaked data from the IRS.

Documents show that some wealthy people in the United States, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Tesla’s Elon Musk, have been paying very little and sometimes nothing in federal income tax for years because their wealth has exploded. The same goes for millionaires like Michael Bloomberg, Carl Icon and George Soros.

Low pay is important

Propablica received tax information on several thousand wealthy Americans and saw how much they paid in taxes from 2014 to 2018 compared to how much their wealth increased.

According to Forbes, Warren Buffett’s wealth increased by more than $ 24 billion during this period, but he paid only 0.1 percent of these federal taxes. Jeff Bezos’ assets have increased by $ 99 billion. He paid less than one percent of the increase in wealth in federal taxes. Michael Bloomberg received 1.3 percent tax – and Elon Musk more than three percent, according to Propablica.

The key to lower taxes is lower wages – while other assets such as stocks and options are less taxed in the United States.

But even if you look at the amount Income During those five years, 25 rich Americans paid taxes, and the percentage is lower: of the $ 86 billion in adjusted total income, they paid $ 13.6 billion in taxes to the authorities — or 15.8 percent.

According to Propablica, if personal health and social security contributions are included, this is less than the average worker would be paid at $ 45,000. Propylica reports a 37 percent higher income tax rate in the United States.

“Basically, each of these numbers pays their fair taxes – and shatters the basic myth that the rich pay more,” wrote Problica. Pays you.

Leak chase

Propolica struggled to get feedback on the article from the rich in America. Elon Musk answered with a question mark. Michael Bloomberg, a businessman who ran in the Democratic Party for the presidency last year, was one of the few respondents who wrote through a delegate that Bloomberg was paying all the taxes he owed.

The spokesman added: “In the United States, no one should be afraid to disclose their tax information illegally. We want to use all legal means at our disposal to identify any leaked person or government agency and ensure that they are held accountable. “

Propaplica is a non-profit news organization founded in 2007 in New York. The editorial board operates in investigative journalism and became the first online editor to win the Pulitzer Prize for Best Journal in 2010. Since then, Propablica has won four more Pulitzer Prizes.

Herbert and Marion Chandler, considered left-wingers in the United States, founded ProPublica and pledged to support the organization with $ 10 million annually. The editorial board is headed by Paul Steiger, former editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal. (Requirements)Copyright Dugens Noringslive AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases via a direct link to our pages. All or any part of the Content may not be copied or used with written permission or as permitted by law. For additional conditions Check it out here.