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President Biden’s Treasury Department released a report on Thursday that found the richest 1 percent of Americans accounted for up to $163 billion owed in taxes each year, according to a report.
The Trends Journal has reported extensively on attempts to get the country’s wealthiest to pay their fair share. See:
- “TAX DODGING ON A GRAND SCALE” (8 Jun 2021)
- “BILLIONAIRE TAX SCOFFLAWS PLOW SAVINGS INTO WEBS OF CONTROL” (15 Jun 2021)
- “A MODEST TAX PROPOSAL FOR BILLIONAIRES” (3 Aug 2021)
We pointed out the blockbuster story published in ProPublica that uncovered how these billionaires used their tax savings to fund globalist organizations that siphon democratic powers away from average voters. The corporate-controlled media somehow managed to twist the story—for the benefit of the Michael Bloombergs of the world, to focus on who leaked these documents.
Charles Hugh Smith, sometime guitarist and author of the financial blog Oftwominds recently offered his thoughts about how the uber-wealthy get away it:
“But a simple one is to report no income and live large off borrowed money. As the billions of dollars in capital gains pile up as the billionaire’s stock holdings soar (thanks, Federal Reserve, for the free trillions; awful swell of you to give us all that free money), there’s no income generated until the billionaire sells some shares. No sale, no income. Just pay yourself $1 a year in salary, borrow against your billions at super-low rates of interest, and voila, you’re tax-free while you build your super-yacht, buy your private island, and so on.”
The New York Times reported that the Biden administration wants the Internal Revenue Service to close the $7 trillion in the country’s tax gap. Part of that initiative is to invest $80 billion in the tax-collecting department over the next decade, the report said.
Republicans have bristled at some of the initiatives, including a report that the administration is aiming to monitor inflows and outflows from personal bank accounts under the auspices to prevent tax evasion. (The plan would be paid for in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package.) The Daily Mail reported that the initiative would “require banks to report gross inflows and outflows to the IRS, including transactions from Venmo, PayPal, crypto exchanges and the like in an effort to fight tax evasion.”
There are concerns that the plan would violate the Fourth Amendment that protects against unreasonable searches. The American Banker reported that the plan could force banks to have to report any transaction data for accounts “with at least $600 of inflows or outflows annually.” The report said some bankers called the plan a compliance nightmare.
The Times‘ report said that tax compliance is high among low-and middle-income workers, but the rich are able to exploit accounting loopholes to shield liabilities.
A poll that was commissioned by the Independent Community Bankers of America found that nearly 70 percent of voters oppose the IRS collecting their banking information, Rebeca Romero Rainey, the president of the group, wrote in The Hill. She wrote that only 22 percent support the plan.
“What’s more, intrusive account reporting to the IRS could undermine Washington’s ongoing policy initiative of reducing the unbanked population. With distrust of institutions and government agencies inhibiting banking relationships—particularly among marginalized communities and those who have fled authoritarian regimes—indiscriminate financial account reporting risks increasing the challenge of reaching these individuals and families,” she wrote.
TREND FORECAST: The BIGS will continue to avoid paying their fair share despite getting tax breaks as they did under the Trump administration when he lowered rates. According to the Tax Policy Center, the one percent received 82 percent of the tax cut benefits.
With the IRS getting more revenue, they will target lower and middle class citizens who, unlike the very rich, lack the financial resources to fight the tax man.