Wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes, investigation reveals
1–10 of 54 posts
Re: Wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes, investigation reveals
#2FWIW, the only way Pro Publica could derive the 3.4% figure was by pretending that the value of a stock going up is income, and then dividing the amount of tax paid by that amount.
Warren Buffett is worth $100B. So if Berkshire Hathaway stock went up 10% in 2022, they'd say Warren Buffett made $10 billion in income, even if he didn't sell a single share.
Obviously extremely misleading and if I were more cynical, I'd accuse them of doing this only to push a political narrative or agenda rather than to report the facts as they are.
Re: Wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes, investigation reveals
#3FWIW, the only way Pro Publica could derive the 3.4% figure was by pretending that the value of a stock going up is income, and then dividing the amount of tax paid by that amount. Warren Buffett is worth $100B. So if Berkshire Hathaway stock went up 10% in 2022, they'd say Warren Buffett made $10 billion in income, even if he didn't sell a single share. Obviously extremely misleading and if I were more cynical, I'd…
So, what do you propose to make them pay their fair share?
Re: Wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes, investigation reveals
#4FWIW, the only way Pro Publica could derive the 3.4% figure was by pretending that the value of a stock going up is income, and then dividing the amount of tax paid by that amount. Warren Buffett is worth $100B. So if Berkshire Hathaway stock went up 10% in 2022, they'd say Warren Buffett made $10 billion in income, even if he didn't sell a single share. Obviously extremely misleading and if I were more cynical, I'd…
So, what do you propose to make them pay their fair share?
Their fair share of what? Income that they haven't actually received?
Re: Wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes, investigation reveals
#5FWIW, the only way Pro Publica could derive the 3.4% figure was by pretending that the value of a stock going up is income, and then dividing the amount of tax paid by that amount. Warren Buffett is worth $100B. So if Berkshire Hathaway stock went up 10% in 2022, they'd say Warren Buffett made $10 billion in income, even if he didn't sell a single share. Obviously extremely misleading and if I were more cynical, I'd…
This is irresponsible reporting at best, and manipulation at worst.
Re: Wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes, investigation reveals
#6FWIW, the only way Pro Publica could derive the 3.4% figure was by pretending that the value of a stock going up is income, and then dividing the amount of tax paid by that amount. Warren Buffett is worth $100B. So if Berkshire Hathaway stock went up 10% in 2022, they'd say Warren Buffett made $10 billion in income, even if he didn't sell a single share. Obviously extremely misleading and if I were more cynical, I'd…
So, what do you propose to make them pay their fair share?
What is their fair share?
Re: Wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes, investigation reveals
#7The Guardian reporting misleading headlines…as usual. The claimed 3.4% tax rate comes from calculating how much taxes they paid as a percentage of their net worth increase, not income.
You can make a valid argument that the way ultra-wealthy people are taxed isn’t fair and that unrealized stock/other investments appreciation should be regarded as income…but it isn’t as of now, making this headline at least misleading and at worse an outright lie.
Re: Wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes, investigation reveals
#8FWIW, the only way Pro Publica could derive the 3.4% figure was by pretending that the value of a stock going up is income, and then dividing the amount of tax paid by that amount. Warren Buffett is worth $100B. So if Berkshire Hathaway stock went up 10% in 2022, they'd say Warren Buffett made $10 billion in income, even if he didn't sell a single share. Obviously extremely misleading and if I were more cynical, I'd…
So, what do you propose to make them pay their fair share?
Sibling comments hit the nail on the head with "fair share".
Here's a video from 2013, that outlines exactly how much tax Warren Buffet is paying. You can disagree with Schiff on his other ideas, but this particular analysis is spot on.
Re: Wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes, investigation reveals
#9FWIW, the only way Pro Publica could derive the 3.4% figure was by pretending that the value of a stock going up is income, and then dividing the amount of tax paid by that amount. Warren Buffett is worth $100B. So if Berkshire Hathaway stock went up 10% in 2022, they'd say Warren Buffett made $10 billion in income, even if he didn't sell a single share. Obviously extremely misleading and if I were more cynical, I'd…
Later, the article makes this statement:
> Billionaires in tech pay the lowest tax rate, an average of 17% of their income
That seems to be > 3.4%
Re: Wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes, investigation reveals
#10So 0.001% of Americans pay 3.4% of income taxes?
How the fuck is that fair?