Propublica publishing tax information on the wealthiest 0.001%

[erronis]

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-short-form-a-quick-guide-to-what-we-uncovered
(Abbreviated overview.)

ProPublica has obtained a vast trove of IRS data on the tax returns of thousands of the wealthiest people. It reveals just how effectively the richest sidestep the tax system, which we’ll show below. But first, to understand the scale of that wealth, let’s look at the richest person in the United States: Jeff Bezos.

Many, many other stories just published.
https://www.propublica.org/article/why-we-are-publishing-the-tax-secrets-of-the-001
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax
....

I'll be reading and staying tuned. Should be interesting.

[Scrivener7]

1. Should be VERY interesting, but I bet the major news outlets don't pick it up.

Thanks for the OP.

[Kid Berwyn]

2. IRS is Welfare for the Wealthy.

Exposed thanks to Pro Publica and Friends.

You May Be Paying a Higher Tax Rate Than a Billionaire

https://www.propublica.org/article/you-may-be-paying-a-higher-tax-rate-than-a-billionaire

And to think some wonder why I’m for publicly financed political campaigns.

[FoxNewsSucks]

5. THat title is wrong.

Not "may be", "ARE". If you have a job, you ARE paying a higher rate. SS & Medicare alone is 7.65% out of every check

[turbinetree]

3. What is really classic is that at least two of these people are funding rockets to fly to the

Moon and Mars, and even resupply the IST.........go figure... and they are making a buck off this from taxpayers.........

[Warpy]

11. And now Bezos is spending millions to shoot his ass into the high stratosphere

Hey, must be great to be that stupidly rich and self absorbed enough not to want to solve homelessness or hunger with it.

I get the guilts for what I've got, enough to live on with the principal going to MSF when I kick the bucket, certainly not enough for me to join the plutocracy. I don't know how I'd rationalize billions and a purposeless joyride on a rocket.

As for those trips to Mars, better solve the problems of micrometeorites, prolonged radiation and the consequences of prolonged weightlessness first, guys. You're just a little premature.

[turbinetree]

14. They really have no conscience, I can still remember Amazon starting out selling books and then

Reminds me of the robber barons that have and use the same tactics from days gone by, all they have to do is go to the front group called the US Chamber of Commence, ALEC or anything tied to the dark money...ect...lobbyists and throttle democracy for greed, but they have a space plan, he (Bezo's) is bringing his brother on the taxpayers dime.............

But I like your ending....they are a little premature

[Chainfire]

4. It is the golden rule folks.

Those with the gold, rule.

[jalan48]

6. Is this something Democrat's can correct or do we need Manchin and the Republicans to agree?

[TheRealNorth]

7. The Republicans passed the last tax bill using reconcilliation....

So we should be able to do that as well. But Manchin, Sinema, and maybe a few others will need to have their arms bent to vote for it.

[jalan48]

8. This could be a huge winning issue for Democrats. If we can't make it happen it speaks volumes for

where we are at as a political party and perpetuates the both-siderism argument.

[KS Toronado]

9. After reading the article I have one question

And I understand that in some cases tax breaks for financial losses can help people keep their heads above water.
But why tax breaks for wealthy people who didn't invest wisely in the stock/money markets? They are gambling
with their money just the same as I would do in Los Vegas. Plus they're using surplus money they don't need
for food, clothing, or shelter.

[scarletlib]

10. All these years we have paid our taxes to the penny. Even overpaid to avoid any penalties.

Always believed it was the patriotic thing to do.
I have always known the rich don’t pay their fair share, these articles will hopefully expose them.
I don’t think they can be shamed, but they need to be brought to account.
Finally I can see why regular people could become scofflaws and cheat on taxes. Why shouldn’t we all?

[BlueCheeseAgain]

12. A couple of things stand out to me.

First, ProPublica is saying that someone's "true tax rate" is the amount they paid in tax divided by their increase in wealth. This is a little tricky, since for the super-rich, this usually happens when stock increases in value. That should eventually get taxed as capital gains when the stock is sold, though of course there are ways to avoid that (inheritance being one of them).

Should people actually get taxed on the increase in value of their property, even if they don't actually sell the property? I guess that's a policy question, but it can lead to all sorts of awkward issues, like what happens if that property is your house, or if your property loses value, etc.

Moving on from that, it looks like Bezos (the main example in the third link above) managed to play some games even on the much smaller amount (but still enormous for ordinary people) of money that came to him as income. This was $46 million in 2007, compared with $3.8 billion in wealth appreciation. It looks like by claiming deductions and investment expenses/losses, Bezos managed to negate all of that.

I'm very curious as to how he managed that, and closing any tax loopholes that allowed that, but at this point we're already going after a tiny slice of the pie (about 1% of his wealth increase).

Also, I wonder why the AMT didn't apply to them?

[brooklynite]

13. Before you start cheering...

Tax records are privileged information under Federal Law. If you believe its okay to release Bezos' et al tax records, in a situation where there is no evidence that cheating (as opposed to taking advantage of the tax rules written by Congress) took place, what would your argument be if a conservative think tank released tax records for people that you support?