A longstanding critique of the United States tax code is that it favors absurdly wealthy corporations and individuals over working class Americans.
A ProPublica report from this summer found:
"[The 25 richest Americans] saw their worth rise a collective $401 billion from 2014 to 2018. They paid a total of $13.6 billion in federal income taxes in those five years, the IRS data shows. That's a staggering sum, but it amounts to a true tax rate of only 3.4%."
Some of the world's richest people, such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla head Elon Musk paid nothing in federal income taxes for a combined three years since 2007. The report goes on to note that the super wealthy have means of evading taxation that are simply out of reach for everyday Americans. As the pandemic made all too clear, immense wealth is largely garnered from assets, the values of which can skyrocket. However, that increase in value isn't considered taxable income until the assets are sold.
If these rules weren't widening the wealth gap enough, the lack of enforcement isn't helping either, according to another new report from the Treasury Department.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Natasha Sarin writes:
"Today's tax code contains two sets of rules: one for regular wage and salary workers who report virtually all the income they earn; and another for wealthy taxpayers, who are often able to avoid a large share of the taxes they owe. ... [E}stimates from academic researchers suggest that more than $160 billion lost annually is from taxes that top 1 percent choose not to pay.1"
Sarin concludes the report by calling for more resources for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to end the two-tiered tax system.
People were enraged at what the lost income represented.
Not surprised. This is what must change in America to have fairness in our economic system.https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1435951121248444421\u00a0\u2026— Terry Blount (@Terry Blount) 1631210267
And remember the rate they're SUPPOSED to be paying declined significantly over the past century, so the amount we COULD be expecting them to fairly pay is even higher.https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1435951121248444421\u00a0\u2026— Zack Ford (@Zack Ford) 1631193789
I don\u2019t understand how people don\u2019t support the #WealthTax. Imagine how much we could do with $ rightfully owed. Things desired on both sides. \n\nThat said, let\u2019s not forget that\u2014as is often the case\u2014the majority of Americans (includes independents and republicans) support it.https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1435951121248444421\u00a0\u2026— Lydia (she/her) (@Lydia (she/her)) 1631202622
And how much are the wealthiest 5% and 10% of Americans evading? I think that if you expand the pool you will find that the vast bulk of tax evasion is at the top. \n\nThe biggest shirkers are those who can afford to pay for help in evading their taxes.https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1435951121248444421\u00a0\u2026— Ned Bade \u270d (@Ned Bade \u270d) 1631214221
And I would presume they are behind the dark money funding the destruction of our democracy.https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1435951121248444421\u00a0\u2026— Mad-in-Maine, Stephanie Violette (@Mad-in-Maine, Stephanie Violette) 1631203092
Greedy people.https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1435951121248444421\u00a0\u2026— flamingo (@flamingo) 1631194877
That money could be put to good use.
How to pay for nearly half of both infrastructure bills over 10 years, if my math is right.https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1435951121248444421\u00a0\u2026— Joan Resnick Ehrlich (@Joan Resnick Ehrlich) 1631194596
Dear GOP, \n TAX THEM AND YOU CAN STOP BITCHING ABOUT OUR DEBT.https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1435951121248444421\u00a0\u2026— Peacock Queen (@Peacock Queen) 1631192571
Dems pushing the $3.5T human infrastructure legislation need to look no further than the upper 1% who are evading paying taxes as well as those wealthy corporations paying $0 in taxes. We can do so much for this country if only EVERYONE paid their fair share.https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1435951121248444421\u00a0\u2026— Mike "The Wizard" Will See You Now \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a (@Mike "The Wizard" Will See You Now \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a) 1631204016
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