These American Billionaires Pay Almost No Taxes

According to this New York-based organization, which claims on its website that it wants to Denouncing the abuse of power and betrayal of the public’s trustAmazon CEO Jeff Bezos didn’t pay any federal taxes in 2007 and 2011, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk ran away in 2018.

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk on the podium of the three richest men in the world.

tax optimization

It’s not about fraud, but about tax optimization that makes it possible to reduce tax in a completely legal way, as determined by ProPublica.

Entrepreneurs Michael Bloomberg and Carl Icahn as well as philanthropist George Soros have also been able to pay any federal taxes in some years, according to the report.

To reach these conclusions, the organization claims to have gotten their hands on thousands of tax returns from wealthy Americans to the IRS, over a span of more than 15 years.

Taken together, they destroy the foundations of the American tax myth: that everyone pays their fair share and that the richest pay moreWrite the authors.

It’s not about fraud, but about tax optimization that makes it possible to reduce tax in a completely legal way, as determined by ProPublica.

Photo: Getty Images/wutwhanfoto/iStock

ProPublica, for example, claims that Jeff Bezos requested and succeeded in obtaining a $4,000 tax credit for his children in 2011, the year he reported investment losses on his tax return greater than his annual income. However, in April Jeff Bezos showed his support for a tax increase that US President Joe Biden wants to fund his infrastructure investment plan.

The richest people in the country, who made huge profits during the pandemic, have not paid their fair shareDemocratic Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden responded on Tuesday, saying he would Suggestion viz.

Asked by AFP, the teams of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Michael Bloomberg, Karl Icahn and George Soros did not immediately respond.

In response to ProPublica, a spokesperson for Mr. Soros cited losses on investments between 2016 and 2018 to justify the lack of federal taxation. mm. Bloomberg and Icahn also said they paid the taxes they should have.

ProPublica also developed in its survey a effective tax rateIt is the tax rate that each billionaire pays compared to the development of his wealth, and the official tax rate is not measured in this way.

The result is a cynical level, at, say, 0.10% for Warren Buffett between 2014 and 2018, on the back of his wealth exploding thanks to rising stock prices.

The US Treasury said the disclosure of these private documents was unlawful, and that it was investigating the leaks with others.