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The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax
ProPublica ^ | 8.June.2021 | Jesse Eisinger, Jeff Ernsthausen, Paul Kiel

Posted on 06/08/2021 6:57:53 AM PDT by farming pharmer

ProPublica has obtained a vast cache of IRS information showing how billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth — sometimes, even nothing.

(Excerpt) Read more at propublica.org ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Government
KEYWORDS: bezos; billiondollarmarxist; income; oligarchs; taxcheats; taxes; trump; wealthy
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To: farming pharmer

Unless we move the system to an EXCLUSIVE ‘consumption tax’ system, the truly wealthy will always be able to ‘work the system’. Every provision in the MASSIVE tax code has a bodyguard of lobbyists, lawyers and CPAs to protect it.

What would and does scare me would be for the USofA to follow the Europeans into the doubled-up scheme of having both Income and consumption (aka VAT) Taxes. This would really give the Swamp true power for social justice taxation. UGLY!


41 posted on 06/08/2021 9:25:15 AM PDT by SES1066 (Ask not what the LEFT can do for you, rather ask what the LEFT is doing to YOU!)
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To: Red Badger

How does one get past the AMT? Alternative Minimum Tax?


Great question - I know there are a variety (actually, a plethora) of tax credits available for all kinds of stuff. I would love to actually see some of these tax returns and get a feel for how the experts do it.
It is impossible to overemphasize how complicated the tax code can be, and that is why tax lawyers, specialist tax accountants, lobbyists, tax strategy promoters, etc. get the big bucks.


42 posted on 06/08/2021 9:29:27 AM PDT by Honest Nigerian
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To: farming pharmer
I'm not a lawyer, but wouldn't illegally obtaining tax information, then publishing it be some kind of federal felony?

YES, it is a very real violation of the IRS Code! While ProPublica can, perhaps, get away with a 1st Amendment argument, think the 'Pentagon Papers', there is one or more IRS employees or contractors breaking Federal Criminal Code Law.

Another thing of note with this kind of security breach, how many personal / individual returns did ProPublica actually get? Just the 25 they write about or were there more? I note that Donald Trump is not shown in this initial dump!

Beware of selective outrage in this kind of disclosure. This is the kind of operation that can lead to lynch mob style legislation!

43 posted on 06/08/2021 9:35:06 AM PDT by SES1066 (Ask not what the LEFT can do for you, rather ask what the LEFT is doing to YOU!)
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To: Jonny7797

Many people aren’t that smart. Some believe that everything charged on a company credit card is deductible so they buy cigarettes, makeup, clothes, etc on that card.
Many people believe “If I hire a CPA to do my taxes, I won’t have to pay income taxes”. It is actually “If I hire a CPA to advise me, I will pay less in taxes”. A CPA can’t fix what you have done.


44 posted on 06/08/2021 9:39:34 AM PDT by AppyPappy (How many fingers am I holding up, Winston? )
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

HTB
If they give you a gift below a certain amount and the same amount to your spouse, it is not taxable.


You are so far wrong on this that it is unbelievable. The threshold for deduction of a business gift is $25 per recipient PER YEAR.
Businesses CAN NOT take a deduction for a gift. Businesses DO NOT have anyway to file a gift tax return, and are not allowed a gift tax exemption.
Getting tax advice and/or legal advice and/or medical advice from FR is sort of like playing the lottery.


45 posted on 06/08/2021 9:40:23 AM PDT by Honest Nigerian
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To: griswold3
Avoidance is legal (Judge Learned Hand) [...] Evasion is illegal.

While your cite is real, it is also quite dated. It was issued in FDR's first term and it was in his second term that he tried to 'pack' the US Supreme Court. What is forgotten today is that FDR lost the battle but won the judiciary war. In his 13 years of the Presidency, he changed the fundamental nature of the Federal Judiciary from Constitutional oversight to the beginnings of judicial activism, the regulatory state and judicial law making. Read Amity Shaels' "The Forgotten Man" for a refresher on how bad the change was!

46 posted on 06/08/2021 9:47:25 AM PDT by SES1066 (Ask not what the LEFT can do for you, rather ask what the LEFT is doing to YOU!)
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To: farming pharmer

IRCC Congress enacts and the president signs the tax laws. It is the ultimate hypocrisy for politicians to blame taxpayers for following the laws they enacted.


47 posted on 06/08/2021 9:59:21 AM PDT by monocle
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To: Sequoyah101

Exactly right. Beyond the reward and punishing there is the power and control aspect. The ability to manipulate and get into every nook and cranny of the lives of people is too much for them to give up.


48 posted on 06/08/2021 10:10:11 AM PDT by xp38
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To: alternatives?

No, not envy.
90% just hate the Patriots football team because their team lost to them for 20 years.


49 posted on 06/08/2021 10:15:51 AM PDT by woodbutcher1963
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To: xp38

Jan 6th was a well orchestrated plan by the democrooks to make the actual American look like anarchists. Added by the FBI and the senate guards it seems to have worked well.


50 posted on 06/08/2021 10:15:55 AM PDT by JayAr36 (My disgust with government is complete.)
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To: Red Badger
Well do you not have a job or a life?

You have posted more than 40 times today!!!

Why!?!!?!

51 posted on 06/08/2021 12:09:34 PM PDT by Osage Orange (DRT)
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To: Osage Orange

I ‘multitask’.......................


52 posted on 06/08/2021 12:11:13 PM PDT by Red Badger (Jesus said there is no marriage in Heaven. That's why they call it Heaven.....................)
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To: Red Badger
You are nuts.....IMO.

And don't know how to spell either.

It's multi-task...

Frankly...I think you need to put down the Mouse..

53 posted on 06/08/2021 12:14:41 PM PDT by Osage Orange (DRT)
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To: Red Badger
You or whoever is helping you..with 4 hours of sleep.... have posted over 50-60 times this last 14 hours.!!!!

What the hell are you doing????

Good God...get a life and go outside.

54 posted on 06/08/2021 12:47:58 PM PDT by Osage Orange (DRT)
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To: farming pharmer

Right.

As Conservatives, we believe in limited government, and the legal limitations built into the Constitution only go so far - so we must also limit funding.

Conservatives also believe in equal treatment under the law. That means taxes should be fair.

However, in my experience, 99% of the time the ones whining about people “not paying their fair share of taxes” are not Conservatives demanding fairness.

They are Liberals wanting to use other people’s money to further expand the government.

I have no sympathy at all.

I say people should avoid paying taxes if they possible can - let the government starve for all I care. At this point, this oversized, unconstitutional government is the enemy of the people.

I know that if forced to cut, they will first cut the things we want - things that will cause visible pain and suffering - and flaunt it on the fake news - in order to “prove” the government spending is essential.

But at some point we need to bite the bullet anyway - or lose the Republic.


55 posted on 06/08/2021 1:14:58 PM PDT by enumerated
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To: farming pharmer

OK, I read this commie polemic. There’s one message - let’s tax unrealized gains because it’s essentially a dodge for the ultrarich. Uh EFF THAT! That’s the first step before the Marxists figure out a way to tax the unrealized gains in our retirement accounts. There are trillions at stake there.


56 posted on 06/08/2021 1:18:16 PM PDT by NohSpinZone (First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers)
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To: farming pharmer

I know what Pro Publica is.


57 posted on 06/08/2021 3:15:06 PM PDT by sauropod (Chance favors the prepared mind.)
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To: pepsionice

They don’t take income so pay no income tax. Most take capital gains and pay that tax.


58 posted on 06/08/2021 3:18:18 PM PDT by Fledermaus (The Republican Party is DEAD! It took 160 years but The Whigs Struck Back!)
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To: SES1066

Thanks. The book is on my library.


59 posted on 06/08/2021 4:48:24 PM PDT by griswold3 (NBA/ Plumlee Ball. = poor entertainment value while insulting the audience gets you broke )
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To: farming pharmer; pepsionice
Well their main complaint seems to be that capital gains are not taxed until you sell.

It's true that the wealthy are making gains on paper that are huge relative to normal people due to capital gains. And they won't see a tax bill on that until they sell.

Those paper gains can disappear due to a market crash or competition against the businesses they own.

But it does raise the question, do we want to tax capital gains in some other method?

To answer that, then we have to figure out how to measure the gain. The stock market is pretty easy to measure. Real estate, jewelry and art holdings not so easy to measure before they actually sell.

Let's focus solely on the stock market.


60 posted on 06/08/2021 8:01:20 PM PDT by DannyTN
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