ProPublica announced this morning that an anonymous source sent them the tax details of some of America’s richest billionaires and will begin publishing these details because they “believe the public interest in an informed debate outweighs privacy considerations”:
New: We are disclosing the tax details of the richest Americans because we believe the public interest in an informed debate outweighs privacy considerations.https://t.co/s67JpUbbnZ
— ProPublica (@propublica) June 8, 2021
The filings of “more than 50 separate people” include Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffett and Elon Musk:
🚨 A new series from Pro Publica “involving tax filings by more than 50 separate people.” They name Bezos and Bloomberg, Buffett, and Musk. In this extraordinary note, they describe how they got them, what they don’t know about where they came from, and the legal risks involved. https://t.co/jNo0nq1W9O
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) June 8, 2021
From ProPublica:
It is now clear that there isn’t just one such taxpayer — there are many, in multiple industries. We believe that disclosing the identities of billionaires who paid little to no taxes in years their fortunes grew by billions of dollars will help readers understand the magnitude of the tax advantages the ultrarich enjoy.
We also believe that disclosure of specific figures about the tax returns of people like Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffett and Elon Musk will deepen readers’ interest and understanding of this complex and arcane subject.
But they’re already coming under fire for the way they’re calculating “their true tax rate”:
Is there any country in the world where unrealized capital gains are taxed as income? Why encumber a fantastic scoop with this bizarre framing? https://t.co/3aBR7ARsu6 pic.twitter.com/zmsTkzwZ9A
— Felix Salmon (@felixsalmon) June 8, 2021
And “It’s rare that a feature package with so much work put into it actually leaves readers *worse* informed than before, but this investigation manages to do so”:
https://twitter.com/KevinWGlass/status/1402240917323587585
Good work, guys:
https://twitter.com/KevinWGlass/status/1402241573467967491
https://twitter.com/KevinWGlass/status/1402242180895346694
https://twitter.com/KevinWGlass/status/1402247621176180736
It does read like it’s straight out of Elizabeth Warren’s office:
https://twitter.com/KevinWGlass/status/1402247724385308674
Libs cheered on when the NYT disclosed former President Trump’s taxes, so they should be in favor of this, right?
Now imagine these leftists justifying the disclosure of the tax details of the most powerful Democrats in Washington.
Stop laughing… https://t.co/qCf5eAdyq8
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) June 8, 2021
More from ProPublica’s Richard Tofel:
Turns out that many of the ultra wealthy pay NO income taxes for entire years— Soros three times, Bezos and Icahn twice, Musk and Bloomberg once. Bezos one year even claimed a $4000 child credit.
— Richard Tofel (@dicktofel) June 8, 2021
As a percentage of their gains in wealth, Buffett has paid 0.1% (10 cents on every $100), Bezos 1.1%, Bloomberg 1.3%, the 25 richest as a group just 3.4%.
Even on just their income, the richest pay less than 16%, far below the 37% top rate:https://t.co/ytdjPZGdiI— Richard Tofel (@dicktofel) June 8, 2021
The 25 richest Americans are collectively worth $1.1 trillion. It takes 14.3 million average wage earners to tally the same wealth. The average earner group paid literally 70 times as much in income taxes in 2018 as the 25.
— Richard Tofel (@dicktofel) June 8, 2021
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