Wealthiest Americans
Pay Almost No Income Taxes, , ProPublica Report Finds.
The report focuses on the 25 richest Americans.
It was released June 8.
The nonprofit news organization compiled the report based
on a "vast trove of Internal Revenue Service data on the
tax returns of thousands of the nation's wealthiest people.".
The nonprofit news organization compiled the report based
on a "vast trove of Internal Revenue Service data on the
tax returns of thousands of the nation's wealthiest people.".
The nonprofit news organization compiled the report based
on a "vast trove of Internal Revenue Service data on the
tax returns of thousands of the nation's wealthiest people.".
The unverified tax documents span
back for 15 years.
While ProPublica investigators did not
discover evidence of illegal activity.
they did discover how the wealthiest Americans
use tax loopholes to avoid paying income taxes,
sometimes altogether.
The report especially highlights a strategy
known as "buy, borrow, die.".
Under this strategy, wealthy individuals make money
through investments which is free from tax until the
investment is sold. This is known as "realized gain.".
The "buy, hold, die" strategy allows accumulated wealth to
be passed on to subsequent generations, almost tax free.
Responding to the report, IRS Commissioner
Charles Rettig stated an investigation is already
underway to discover how the tax documents were leaked.
I can confirm that there is an investigation with respect to the allegations that the source of the information from that article came from the Internal Revenue Service, Charles Rettig, IRS Commissioner, via NBC News.
Many Democratic lawmakers cited the report
in support of President Joe Biden's initiative to
transform the tax code and close tax loopholes.
The big picture is that this data shows that the country's wealthiest, who profited immensely during the pandemic, have not been paying their fair share, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senate Finance
Committee Chairman, via NBC News