Richest Americans Paid Federal Income Taxes Equaling Just 3.4% Of $401 Billion In New Wealth

[jmdrake]

This ain't from Robert Kiosaki. It's from Forbes.com. If you are super rich and know what you are doing, you pay taxes at a lower rate than the rest of us. There are "rich" people that are stupid. Musicians, sports stars, actors, many doctors even are stupid when it comes to money and avoiding taxes. (Or just lazy like me). Now when you control

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahha...h=40ed73017fe1

Note this report was from 2014 to 2018. In 2021 alone the top 1% gained a whopping 1.6% TRILLION in new wealth thanks to lock downs, bailouts and federal mandates (especially vaccine mandates). Walgreens is losing money now that people aren't getting mass vaccinated anymore. Fake philanthropist Bill Gates dumped his vaccine stock right before publicly announcing that the vaccines "really didn't work."

Now don't get it twisted. I'm not one of those "tax the rich" morons. Every "tax the rich" scheme just keeps taxing the stupid rich. The smart rich have their lobbyists bake their loopholes into whatever new version of the code that's going to come out before it's even written. But spare me the falsehood that the 1% are shouldering the biggest tax burden! Let me make a hundred million of that 1.6 TRILLION and you won't see me crying about paying 3.5% or whatever the 1 per-centers ended up paying this go round.

That said, we should move to a VAT. No loopholes. No tax brackets. Nothing. We'd all be better off. (Well...except for the people who have figured out how to game the system).

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Forbes is marxist.

[jmdrake]

Forbes is marxist.

He's also super rich. Donald Trump are Forbes are cut from the same cloth on this.

[dannno]

How much of the new wealth is unrealized gains?

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

He's also super rich. Donald Trump are Forbes are cut from the same cloth on this.

I mean Forbes, the magazine. And wasn't Forbes a fagggot?

[jmdrake]

I mean Forbes, the magazine. And wasn't Forbes a fagggot?

Steve Forbes the person (and the former GOP presidential candidate) runs Forbes magazine so I would think it would reflect his views on economics and politics. I don't know about his sexual preferences and don't care to look them up.

[jmdrake]

How much of the new wealth is unrealized gains?

Bill Gates realized millions in gain on dumping vaccine stocks before admitting they were crap and promptly donated that money to the foundation he controls so he can use it to fly to climate change conferences around the world in private jets.



And if he hadn't realized the gains he would have lost a bunch of money because those stocks are in free fall right now.

[dannno]

Bill Gates realized millions in gain on dumping vaccine stocks before admitting they were crap and promptly donated that money to the foundation he controls so he can use it to fly to climate change conferences around the world in private jets.



And if he hadn't realized the gains he would have lost a bunch of money because those stocks are in free fall right now.

The problem is we don't want to put all rich people in the same basket of criminals.

I would prefer good rich people don't pay any taxes and put the money toward investing and growing their businesses, hiring more people, etc.

I don't want to punish those people because of evil rich people like Bill Gates.

Any ideas?

[jmdrake]

The problem is we don't want to put all rich people in the same basket of criminals.

I would prefer good rich people don't pay any taxes and put the money toward investing and growing their businesses, hiring more people, etc.

I don't want to punish those people because of evil rich people like Bill Gates.

Any ideas?

Abolish the IRS and replace the income tax with a flat VAT? I mean it's really simple. Some European countries already do it. I don't give a rip about the rich paying taxes or not paying taxes. NOBODY should have to pay taxes on income. NOBODY! I go to buy a new Raspberry Pi? I got pay the VAT. Bill Gates buys a yacht? He has to pay the VAT. Junebug goes and buys some cigarillos? He pays the VAT. Bubba buys some chewing tobacco? He pays the VAT. It's already baked in the cost of goods sold at the time of manufacturing. (It's NOT a sales tax). Stuff is imported? The VAT is done through tariffs. Simple.

[oyarde]

Almost 3 1/2 ? Hell they should be glad to get it , it is 3 1/2 more than I intend to need to pay .

[Weston White]

The major concern with a VAT is that it will inevitably be abused in its application; the lifestyle in America will diminish similarly to in Europe, everybody but the wealthy will be able to afford to purchase fancy or upgraded appliances or vehicles. The average American family will be forced to downgrade to a small basic refrigerator, cheap and limited carpentry, garage, and automotive tools, small cars, etc., e.g., no more big screen UHDTV, no fancy refrigerator and freezer combo with water filtration and ice makers, no more matching washer and drier with auto-features, no more lifted 4x4 pickups, fancy SUV, or customized sports vehicles, etc. Most people will have to rely on public transportation, thrift clothes, Walmart style shopping, and so on.

...Alternatively, what about revamping the individual income tax to how it used to be, but more efficiently and adding a modern twist to it. Say, in addition to taxing all liquid capital (including all positive financial returns for the tax-year) that is exceeds: $100-million at a flat (no-exemptions, reductions, loopholes, etc.) 40%, $250-million at 55%, $500-million at 75%, $750-million at 85%, $1-billion at 90%, and then at $5-billion or more at 95%.

Additionally, placing caps on trusts and non-profits of say $200-million, any sum greater will require the payment of taxes as the entity or structure will forfeit its tax exemption; and also any salaries or perks paid out during the tax-year to any employee that exceeds say $120,000 throughout the year will require the entity or structure to pay taxes upon such sums (i.e., as this exceeds the notions of charity and volunteerism.)

[Anti Federalist]

From the OP

ProPublica’s “true tax rate” is a novel and sure-to-be-controversial measure of how much taxes an individual paid each year compared to Forbes’ calculation of how much their wealth grew during the same time, meaning that ProPublica is counting unrealized capital gains, which are not taxed under the current U.S. Tax Code.

IOW - We should build our figures, and government should tax people, on income they have not yet earned.

What could go wrong with that huh?

The socialist view of redistribution within a capitalist society must reject an important premise at play in nearly all tax policy debates: that pre-tax income is something earned solely by individual effort and possessed privately before the state intervenes to take a part of it. Once we break from this libertarian fantasy, it’s easy to see that individual and corporate income is made possible only through tax-financed state action.

See, we're all doofuses that fail to realize we don't own anything.

Anything we make is only possible because of government, which means government owns it all.

[Cleaner44]

How much of the new wealth is unrealized gains?

Right? Income taxes are for income. Its funny how envious commies can't grasp basic things.

[jmdrake]

Right? Income taxes are for income. Its funny how envious commies can't grasp basic things.

It amazes me how much you can't read. Bill Gates realized his gains. Then he put it in his foundation where he can go around the world and promote the great reset. But you don't have the brains to understand that and you think people who oppose what Bill Gates is doing, like Tucker Carlson, must be communists. Hey, did you know that Donald Trump criticized Jeff Besos for not paying taxes? I guess Donald Trump is an "envious communist" in your mind too.

[jmdrake]

From the OP



IOW - We should build our figures, and government should tax people, on income they have not yet earned.

What could go wrong with that huh?

The socialist view of redistribution within a capitalist society must reject an important premise at play in nearly all tax policy debates: that pre-tax income is something earned solely by individual effort and possessed privately before the state intervenes to take a part of it. Once we break from this libertarian fantasy, it’s easy to see that individual and corporate income is made possible only through tax-financed state action.

See, we're all doofuses that fail to realize we don't own anything.

Anything we make is only possible because of government, which means government owns it all.

*sigh* So you don't get it either. NOBODY SHOULD PAY INCOME TAXES! But the Bill Gates of the world hide their income by pretending they haven't made income. Realize your gains, but hide them by putting them in a foundation that you control so you can virtue signal and fly around the world on your private jet while pushing everyone else to worry about their carbon footprint. The billionaire class set up a system where everyone else pays taxes and they can pretend to not have gains when they actually do and they get working stiff to think it's all fair. Newsflash, it ain't. The only fair thing to do is get rid of the income tax. Tax spending, not earning. Working for a paycheck is not a crime and shouldn't be punished through taxation. Understanding this is the opposite of socialism.

Edit: Please watch. This explains how one can "realize" unrealized gains.



And if you don't think capitalist Bill Gates is using socialism to his advantage to "redistribute" wealth from working class Americans to himself, then you haven't been paying attention.

[jmdrake]

Almost 3 1/2 ? Hell they should be glad to get it , it is 3 1/2 more than I intend to need to pay .

Good for you. I want a system where you pay zero income taxes without having to jump through hoops.

[jmdrake]

The major concern with a VAT is that it will inevitably be abused in its application; the lifestyle in America will diminish similarly to in Europe, everybody but the wealthy will be able to afford to purchase fancy or upgraded appliances or vehicles. The average American family will be forced to downgrade to a small basic refrigerator, cheap and limited carpentry, garage, and automotive tools, small cars, etc., e.g., no more big screen UHDTV, no fancy refrigerator and freezer combo with water filtration and ice makers, no more matching washer and drier with auto-features, no more lifted 4x4 pickups, fancy SUV, or customized sports vehicles, etc. Most people will have to rely on public transportation, thrift clothes, Walmart style shopping, and so on.

Anything can be abused. And in case you haven't noticed the standard of living of average Americans is diminishing faster than anywhere in the western world right now.

...Alternatively, what about revamping the individual income tax to how it used to be, but more efficiently and adding a modern twist to it. Say, in addition to taxing all liquid capital (including all positive financial returns for the tax-year) that is exceeds: $100-million at a flat (no-exemptions, reductions, loopholes, etc.) 40%, $250-million at 55%, $500-million at 75%, $750-million at 85%, $1-billion at 90%, and then at $5-billion or more at 95%.

How about not! Why should I have to worry about reporting to the government how much I earn? Why is that fair or just or right or moral in any sense of the word? Why should a trust baby pay a lower tax rate on income (excuse me "dividends") that he earns just for being born in the "right" family? Technically if I go set up a lemonade stand I'm supposed to report my profit to the IRS. Why? I miss the old days when people on this forum understood that the income tax itself is tyranny of the worst order. Hey, they jack up the price on the new "smart" refrigerator? Guess what? I don't have to freaking buy it! I don't need a Ferrari or even a Dodge Charger. Most people buy those big ticket items on credit anyway. Let me keep what I earn until it's time for me to spend it. We've got 87,000 IRS agents with guns getting ready to go after people selling mix tapes out of their trunk. This is what I thought @Anti Federalist understood but I guess I was wrong.

Additionally, placing caps on trusts and non-profits of say $200-million, any sum greater will require the payment of taxes as the entity or structure will forfeit its tax exemption; and also any salaries or perks paid out during the tax-year to any employee that exceeds say $120,000 throughout the year will require the entity or structure to pay taxes upon such sums (i.e., as this exceeds the notions of charity and volunteerism.)

Why? My God why? Why have all of these complicated laws and accounting tricks? Can't you see that a system that is based on the government knowing how much money you make in a given year is inherently evil? Get rid of the income tax and the need for trusts and non-profits for tax purposes goes away. Non profits go back to being (gasp) charities and charity is just another word for love! Trusts should just be a way to set up assets to protect your loved ones after you're gone. There should be no tax implications for any of this! This evil system sets us against each other by design. We are all worried about who we think the system is screwing the worst, when all of us at the bottom are equal opportunity gubmint financial rape victims. The income tax is really a form of modern day slavery.

[dannno]

Bill Gates Calls for Higher Taxes on Wealthy in NYE Blog Post

https://markets.businessinsider.com/...han%20a%20year.

[Cleaner44]

It amazes me how much you can't read. Bill Gates realized his gains. Then he put it in his foundation where he can go around the world and promote the great reset. But you don't have the brains to understand that and you think people who oppose what Bill Gates is doing, like Tucker Carlson, must be communists. Hey, did you know that Donald Trump criticized Jeff Besos for not paying taxes? I guess Donald Trump is an "envious communist" in your mind too.

I don't have any clue what you are talking about.

I was not commenting on Bill Gates. You obviously have no idea what I think about Bill Gates.

I wonder why you made such a stupid assumption regarding what I think about people that oppose what Bill Gates is doing...

[jmdrake]

I don't have any clue what you are talking about.

I know you don't. You haven't this entire thread.

I was not commenting on Bill Gates. You obviously have no idea what I think about Bill Gates.

You were commenting on unrealized gains. I explained to you how that works by using Bill Gates as an example. You're welcome for the free education.

[jmdrake]

Bill Gates Calls for Higher Taxes on Wealthy in NYE Blog Post

https://markets.businessinsider.com/...han%20a%20year.

Of course. They all do. Bill Gates. Warren Buffet. Donald Trump. Jeff Bezos does it indirectly through the Washington Post. It's all a scam. They know how the system works and when taxes are "raised on the rich" they're only raised on the stupid rich. The smart rich just use the new loopholes. The only was to fix the income tax system is to abolish it.

[Sonny Tufts]

But the Bill Gates of the world hide their income by pretending they haven't made income. Realize your gains, but hide them by putting them in a foundation that you control so you can virtue signal and fly around the world on your private jet while pushing everyone else to worry about their carbon footprint.

It doesn't work that way because there's a limit on annual charitable deductions. So if Gates has $100 million in realized income and he contributes it all to his foundation (which I assume would be characterized as a private foundation -- i.e., one that's not publicly supported), he will be able deduct only $30 million. The remaining $70 million can be carried over and deducted over the following 5 years, subject to the 30% limit in each year. But he's taxed on that $70 million in the year he makes the contribution.

[jmdrake]

It doesn't work that way because there's a limit on annual charitable deductions. So if Gates has $100 million in realized income and he contributes it all to his foundation (which I assume would be characterized as a private foundation -- i.e., one that's not publicly supported), he will be able deduct only $30 million. The remaining $70 million can be carried over and deducted over the following 5 years, subject to the 30% limit in each year. But he's taxed on that $70 million in the year he makes the contribution.

Unless he bought the stock through the foundation in the first place.

[Sonny Tufts]

Unless he bought the stock through the foundation in the first place.

What stock?? Not sure what you're saying here, but if you're assuming that he contributes $100 million of stock to the foundation instead of cash, he's in a worse position because the cap in that case is 20% instead of 30%.

[jmdrake]

What stock?? Not sure what you're saying here, but if you're assuming that he contributes $100 million of stock to the foundation instead of cash, he's in a worse position because the cap in that case is 20% instead of 30%.

I'm talking about the vaccine stock mentioned here:



And here:

https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/new...-huge-profits/

Bill Gates reaped massive profits from ‘impeccably timed’ sale of Pfizer stock
Schachtel reviewed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings and found the Gates Foundation downsized its BioNTech holdings by 86% — from 1,038,674 to 148,674 shares — over the third quarter of 2021, BioNTech’s best-performing quarter.

The foundation had purchased the shares in September 2019 — just months before the pandemic was announced — at a pre-public offering price of $18.10 per share.

When the foundation sold the shares — at an average sale price of $300 per share — it pocketed a profit of approximately $260 million, or more than 15 times its original investment.

Schachtel said $242 million of that profit is untaxed because the money was invested through the foundation.

The Gates Foundation sold an additional 2 million shares prior to the third quarter of 2021, and subsequently sold 1.4 million shares of CureVac, a German-based mRNA company, making another $50 million, Schachtel found.

“Bill Gates secured hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from his foundation’s impeccably timed investment in BioNTech — the Pfizer partner for its mRNA Covid shots — before dramatically reversing course and proceeding to openly cast doubt on the whole of mRNA technology,” Schachtel wrote.

After dumping his stocks, in November 2021, Gates said, “We need a new way of doing the vaccines,” because the vaccines didn’t stop transmission, despite all of his previous claims to the contrary.

Speaking at the Lowy Institute, Gates said:

“We also need to fix the three problems of [COVID-19] vaccines. The current vaccines are not infection-blocking. They’re not broad, so when new variants come up you lose protection, and they have very short duration, particularly in the people who matter, which are old people.”

With those comments, “Gates amped up his doubtful rhetoric about mRNA, continuing to distance himself from the once hyped technology that he used to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic profits,” Schachtel said.

Bottom line, much of the "unrealized gains" people are yammering about were actually realized.

[Sonny Tufts]

I'm talking about the vaccine stock mentioned here

But this was stock that belonged to the foundation, and the realized gain was its own; it wasn't Gates's stock, and he realized no gain from its sale. Why in the world should anyone think that Gates can treat the gain as his own?

[jmdrake]

But this was stock that belonged to the foundation, and the realized gain was its own; it wasn't Gates's stock, and he realized no gain from its sale. Why in the world should anyone think that Gates can treat the gain as his own?

*Sigh* Here's the scam. Bill Gates uses he foundation for his own personal benefit. I don't have a problem with that. I have a problem with the system that allows it. When Barron Trump wanted to join the Boy Scouts, Donald Trump's "private foundation" made a $7.00 donation of the exact amount of the required dues to the Boy Scouts. I'm not mad at Trump for doing that. I'm saying the system is rigged. Hell DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF SAID THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED! That's one of the times Trump was honest. Why the hell do you want to defend such a system? I thought everyone here understood, as Ron Paul has said multiple times, that the income tax itself is the problem. (Well...one of the problems.) It's designed to be rigged in favor of the people who designed it who just happen to be the people who can afford paid lobbyists who just happen to be the 1%.

Don't get it twisted. As long as the system is rigged, everyone SHOULD do their best to take advantage of it. But the system itself needs to be scrapped.

Edit: And all of the uber rich know it's rigged in favor of them.

[Weston White]

Just an alternative idea for consumption. Either way I think a constitutional amendment would be necessary, e.g., a VAT is essentially a national sales tax that follows throughout the entire manufacturing and assembly process over every article of consumption, and sales taxes exist within the policing powers of individual states.

The underlying issue we presently have in America (everywhere really) is an increasing number of multi-millionaires and billionaires, as ‘nouveau riche’, including individuals that have acquired massive sums of wealth that exceeds what many nations have in GDP. And these people, like Bill Gates, have setup tax havens, NGOs, and cooped international agencies that operate under international treaties, such as the WHO and UN, to lobby and to usurp and to infect their individual ideologies and agendas into the will of the public; like George Soros, who funds political organizations (e.g., DNC) to incite havoc an chaos on a national level, to control and dominate the process of electing candidates into office; like Mike Zuckerburg, who covertly works with bureaucrats (and major media and Google services) to censor political opposition and to proactively data-mine the world in real time; like Klaus Schwab, who conspires in unison at an international level through his WEF and in cooperation with NGOs, WHO, UN, UNESCO, CFR, G30, Bilderbergs, Davos, Club of Rome, Trilateral Commission, et al, and the ultrawealthy 1-percent at an international scale so as to effect similar ideologies and agendas as Bill Gates, George Soros, Henry Kissinger, Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerburg, the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, et al.

…We can even look to Elon Musk on this point, though he appears to represent the dichotomy, using his wealth primarily in mind with a libertarian mindset.

It ought to be a good thought exercise, even if only limited in duration, to place a literal cap on how much any individual can own in liquidity at a given time. It should be of grave concern as to exactly how specific groups of individuals can amass such wealth into the hundreds of billions.

[GlennwaldSnowdenAssanged]

Next year it will cost $100 billion dollars for a cup of coffee at a convenience store.

[GlennwaldSnowdenAssanged]

It matters not how tax is calculated, or collected. No matter how much is collected it will never satisfy the governments spending appetite.