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multi-billionaire
Mike Bloomberg
Photo: Rick Bowmer / AP / DPA
The US tax authority IRS wants to determine how sensitive data from the super-rich like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk or Warren Buffett could have come to the public. "I can confirm that there is an investigation," said IRS chief Charles Rettig on Tuesday at a Senate hearing in Washington. He shared "the concern of all Americans" about the confidentiality of tax secrecy.
Jen Psaki, the spokeswoman for President Joe Biden (78), also affirmed: Any unauthorized disclosure of confidential information from the state is illegal and is taken very seriously. In addition to the IRS, the Treasury Department, the Federal Police FBI and the Washington State Attorney's Office are also involved. At the same time, Psaki commented that the revelation shows the need to "do more to ensure that individuals and businesses pay their fair share of taxes," as proposed by Biden. Senator
Elizabeth Warren
(71), who presented detailed plans for a wealth tax as a presidential candidate in 2020, wrote on Twitter: "We need a wealth tax."
Mike Bloomberg
(79), who had also run unsuccessfully against Biden,
reacted more negatively
. The Financial Times quoted the owner of the financial information service Bloomberg, who appears as one of the 25 richest Americans on the list, that he will "exhaust all legal steps" to find the source of the disclosure and "hold it accountable." He strictly adheres to the word and spirit of the law and gives three quarters of his income to the public through taxes or donations. "Regardless of political inclination or attitude to tax policy, the publication of a private citizen's tax return should raise serious privacy concerns," he said.No such statement was found on Bloomberg's website or Twitter account on Wednesday.
The investigative platform "Propublica" published the results of a research on Tuesday, which, according to it, is based on anonymously leaked IRS data on the income declarations and tax payments of the richest Americans.
The information is intended to show how small contributions many extremely wealthy in the US have to pay to the tax authorities in relation to their immense wealth and how much they can benefit from legal tax loopholes.
Elon Musk's economical answer: "?"
"Propublica" compared, among other things, the federal income taxes of the 25 richest Americans for the years 2014 to 2018 with their asset growth according to the "Forbes" billionaires list and came to the conclusion that the tax quota only averaged 3.4 percent . Further details: Amazon boss Bezos - according to "Forbes" the richest person in the world - paid no US income taxes at all in 2007 and 2011. Tesla boss Musk and other multi-billionaires have also succeeded in doing this in other years.
Remarkable: Stock market star Warren Buffett, who repeatedly speaks out in public for higher taxes for top earners, paid the lowest taxes of the 25 super-rich from 2014 to 2018, according to "Propublica". The 90-year-old head of investment holding Berkshire Hathaway increased his wealth by $ 24.3 billion during this period, but only reported an income of $ 125 million with the tax authorities and ultimately paid 23.7 million in taxes. This results in a "true tax rate" of only 0.1 percent.
Buffett responded to the data leaks with a detailed explanation that he intends to donate virtually all of his fortune to charity. He believed that that way his money was more useful to society. Buffett also reiterated his support for a fairer tax system to reduce wealth inequalities among the population. Bezos was not ready to take a stand, according to "Propublica". When asked, Musk only started with "?" replied and then stopped responding.
The revelations are making waves in the USA, but ultimately show the effect of a long-known and controversial property of the tax system.
In contrast to most citizens, the wealth of billionaires like Bezos and Co. usually results less from their income than from the increase in the value of assets such as stocks.
However, apart from their dividends, they are only taxed when they are sold.
In addition, the tax burden can be reduced, for example through loans or investment losses.
ak / dpa-afx
