Bezos says he supports corporate tax increase 0:46
(CNN Business) -
The administration of President Joe Biden said Tuesday it is investigating how the tax information of several of the world's richest people, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett, was leaked to the public.
"Unauthorized disclosure of confidential government information is illegal," Treasury spokeswoman Lily Adams said.
“The matter is being referred to the Office of the Inspector General, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, all of which have independent authority to investigate ».
Bezos says he supports corporate tax increase 0:46
Filtration
The investigation comes after a report that revealed new information from a treasure trove of never-before-seen IRS records.
On Tuesday ProPublica reported on exclusively obtained IRS documents showing how people like Bezos, Musk, Buffett, Bill Gates, George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg and Michael Bloomberg have legally avoided paying income tax.
"Any unauthorized disclosure of confidential government information by an access person is illegal and we take it very seriously," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during Tuesday's briefing. .
Carissa Véliz: personal data should not be sold 1:27
Tax Reform
Psaki also reiterated the Biden administration's stance that wealthy Americans pay more taxes to fund the president's proposals.
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“I will not comment on specific unauthorized disclosures of confidential government information.
I can tell you that, broadly speaking, we know there is more to do to ensure that corporations, the people with the highest incomes, pay more than their fair share.
So it's in the president's proposals, his budget, and part of how he's proposing to pay for his ideas, ”Psaki said.
Personal Data Taxes