WASHINGTON, D.C. Dec. 30 (DPI) – Just in time for the election year, The New York Times dredged up the old and familiar story of the super-rich influencing politicians in return for special tax loopholes. The report prompted a predictable wave of reader indignation, resignation and cynicism. An eye-popping 3,000 comments appeared in 24 hours.
The problems of tax avoidance by the rich – and their schemes to manipulate the tax code – are as old as taxes themselves, as politicians who make the policies curry favor with powerful interests. Moreover, while the 400 richest Americans find ways to reduce their tax bill, the actual revenue shortfall from those schemes totals perhaps $10 billion or $20 billion, not inconsequential but not huge either: The federal government’s annual tax receipts are about $3 trillion, 17.5% of the $17 trillion US economy.
In a kind of ideological reply, The Wall Street Journal today reported that the super-rich are paying a higher proportion of their income to taxes in recent years, and they continue to make the highest proportion of charitable donations.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/tax-rate-for-top-400-u-s-taxpayers-climbed-in-2013-1451497056
Still, tax avoidance is part of a larger problem of a modern economy with an arcane and needlessly complex tax code, which has fueled so much alienation among voters and citizens generally in recent years.
Tax reform – once again – is likely to be front and center in the 2016 presidential campaign, and may even hurt the prospects of 1%er Donald Trump.
For all that, there’s little evidence that whoever gets elected can pull off meaningful reform, given the dependence of both major parties on the super-rich for funds.
One thing that readers are certain of is that average people are getting screwed by a tax code that favors those who can afford to hire armies of lawyers and accountants.
Among the most popular comments:
I often deal with ultra high net worth clients for my work. There are exceptions of course, but most are sociopaths behind a crocodile smile who have accumulated wealth in less than admirable ways and would step over your dying body to get to their spa appointment.
Wealth divide will eventually wipe out the middle class. Do that and history has a lesson for all of us, its how past Empires have crumbled. The 1 % is now just circulating the money among their own interests. We are no longer a capitalistic society but more an oligarchy. Certainly not what the fore founders envisioned, its actually what we fought against to create this country. Greed has eroded “The American Dream”, very sad.
Every now and then the NYT reminds me of why I subscribe. It’s something of an old story, but nice work nonetheless. Maybe a drumbeat of this kind of stuff will topple Trump and ignite the reform movement we so desperately need.