Tax avoidance by the superwealthy is an economic issue as well as a political one

Data from the Federal Reserve shows that only the richest 1% of households have grown their share of overall U.S. wealth since 1990. Their share hit a record 32% in the third quarter of 2025, equivalent to $54.8 trillion.

Gains made by the billionaire class, the very top 0.1% of households and a subset of the 1%, have eclipsed the merely extremely rich. This group’s share of U.S. net wealth has risen nearly 6 percentage points to 14.4% since 1990.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/billionaires-low-taxes-are-becoming-a-problem-for-the-economy/ar-AA1WzNOA?ocid=finance-verthp-feeds

2 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Tax avoidance by the superwealthy is an economic issue as well as a political one

Data from the Federal Reserve shows that only the richest 1% of households have grown their share of overall U.S. wealth since 1990. Their share hit a record 32% in the third quarter of 2025, equivalent to $54.8 trillion.

Gains made by the billionaire class, the very top 0.1% of households and a subset of the 1%, have eclipsed the merely extremely rich. This group’s share of U.S. net wealth has risen nearly 6 percentage points to 14.4% since 1990.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/billionaires-low-taxes-are-becoming-a-problem-for-the-economy/ar-AA1WzNOA?ocid=finance-verthp-feeds

The most pressing challenge we face is the alarming growth of the federal budget. Simply put, the government cannot tax its way out of this crisis. Instead of addressing the root of the problem, those on the left are redirecting the blame towards billionaires while overlooking the significant mess they have created.

In 2025, federal spending totaled $7 trillion, or 23.1 percent of GDP, exceeding the 50-year average of 21.2 percent. By 2036, spending will reach $11.4 trillion, or 24.4 percent of GDP. Autopilot mandatory spending—interest costs and mammoth programs such as Social Security and Medicare—is almost entirely responsible for this growth. By 2036, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest costs will account for 73 percent of total federal spending, consuming nearly 100 percent of all federal revenue.

https://www.cato.org/blog/cbo-warns-ballooning-deficits-latest-fiscal-report?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=facebook&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=

Socialist govt spending too much is the issue. They ALWAYS have to blame others, because socialist govts ALWAYS run out of (other peoples)money to spend.

Could there be a link to Israel and tax breaks, given that over a third of US billionaires are Jewish.

https://constitutionalstudies.ning.com/m/discussion?id=6585610%3ATopic%3A428352

46 minutes ago, JimCM said:

Could there be a link to Israel and tax breaks, given that over a third of US billionaires are Jewish.

https://constitutionalstudies.ning.com/m/discussion?id=6585610%3ATopic%3A428352

Dude... you have Jews on the brain.

3 hours ago, JimCM said:

Could there be a link to Israel and tax breaks, given that over a third of US billionaires are Jewish.

https://constitutionalstudies.ning.com/m/discussion?id=6585610%3ATopic%3A428352

Current Estimates: Recent reports indicate that Jewish individuals make up approximately 17% to 20% of the wealthiest Americans (Forbes 400), not over 33%

3 hours ago, TedG said:

Dude... you have Jews on the brain.

Thats how guys like him roll.

3 hours ago, JimCM said:

Could there be a link to Israel and tax breaks, given that over a third of US billionaires are Jewish.

https://constitutionalstudies.ning.com/m/discussion?id=6585610%3ATopic%3A428352

Jealous they make more money than you? They are smarter and better at business,,,,

It's also a social issue, and one that even spooks "lefties" like me.

The vast and increasing gap between the average person and the elite is what drives today's youth into thinking Socialism is some solution to their difficult plight.

Contrary to the epithets tossed haphazardly in this Forum---especially by one member who continuously uses terms he really doesn't understand, like "commie" and "marxist"---most of us "lefties" are dyed-in-the-wool Capitalists. We made our wealth in that system, though most of us believe that comes with a responsibility to find places and ways to give back. We know the system others built gave us our opportunity, so we didn't do it all ourselves. Gratitude means paying forward.

That ethic seems to be missing in some of the more visible members of the elite. Rather than give back to what enabled them to build what they have built, they simply flaunt their wealth and live ostentatiously. They build a 400' megayacht, maybe two. One mansion is never enough. One jet is never enough. For some, even 12-figure $ net worth is not enough. Also, the media doesn't necessarily court them; they court the media, sometimes even buying it so that they get the broadcasting rights to their own fame.

That kind of self-aggrandizement and conspicuous consumption doesn't sit well with the new generation who cannot even afford to buy a home. Plus, the elite "diversify" by scooping up all manner of assets, which drives things like a house even farther away from the incoming generation. When the young also see they are paying a higher tax rate schlepping Grande Lattes at Starbucks than most billionaires (who, as part of the Donor Class can get politicians, whose primary goal is re-election, to pass new deductions or huge tax cuts), resentment is inevitable. It's human nature.

Here's some numbers that are an indication of the increasing gap between the elite and the masses.....the average income in 1982 was a little over $14,000. Today it's $51,000, a rise of 264%. To make the Forbes 400 in 1982, one needed $75 million. Today it's $3.8 billion, a rise of almost 5000%.

The national budget is also falling deeper into disrepair because of the tax cuts the elite demand from self-serving politicians. Since spending in never going to drop (DOGE saved virtually nothing, not even a rounding error, as the deficit continues to soar), repayment falls into the hands of the incoming generation. In fact it eventually will just all blow up. Debt service now exceeds even the bloated defense budget, and with war on the horizon (deflect from Epstein, as Iran is hardly an imminent threat), that will only get worse. $2 trillion per year is now the norm in terms of deficit---and that with still-historically low interest rates. Each upward shift in the Yield Curve of another nominal 1% will add $360 billion in new debt, eventually becoming exponential.

If the US is not going to begin electing socialists on a national basis, a few things have to happen. One is a fairer tax scheme. The extra couple of hundred million a multi-billionaire makes doesn't really affect lifestyle or psychic reward, save for ego. Spending at the national level also has to decline, especially the wildly bloated defense budget. The US currently spends more on defense than the next 10 nations combined. It spends 3x as much as China, but is the US military really 3 times better? A third thing that would help, but is unlikely, is that the uber elite ought to try to become a little less visible and stop being show offs. Yes, envy is wrong, but it is inevitable and can have bad outcomes, like a trend toward Socialism among the have nots.

Term limits in Congress will also help, because politicians will not have to kowtow to the elite for campaign funding. Oh, and get rid of Citizens United. a decision that only exacerbated the power of the uber elite to the detriment of the masses.

The issue is billionaires borrow money and spend that, a way to tax that needs to be found.

Not only billionaires, but property investors do also and nobody pays tax.

7 hours ago, JimCM said:

Could there be a link to Israel and tax breaks, given that over a third of US billionaires are Jewish.

https://constitutionalstudies.ning.com/m/discussion?id=6585610%3ATopic%3A428352

Why are you so obsessed with Jews?

That's a rhetorical question by the way. 😄

On 2/20/2026 at 12:47 AM, Fact said:

The most pressing challenge we face is the alarming growth of the federal budget. Simply put, the government cannot tax its way out of this crisis. Instead of addressing the root of the problem, those on the left are redirecting the blame towards billionaires while overlooking the significant mess they have created.

In 2025, federal spending totaled $7 trillion, or 23.1 percent of GDP, exceeding the 50-year average of 21.2 percent. By 2036, spending will reach $11.4 trillion, or 24.4 percent of GDP. Autopilot mandatory spending—interest costs and mammoth programs such as Social Security and Medicare—is almost entirely responsible for this growth. By 2036, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest costs will account for 73 percent of total federal spending, consuming nearly 100 percent of all federal revenue.

https://www.cato.org/blog/cbo-warns-ballooning-deficits-latest-fiscal-report?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=facebook&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=

So, is the growth of the deficit only due to the rise in spending, or are tax cuts also responsible?

On 2/20/2026 at 12:56 AM, SunnyinBangrak said:

Socialist govt spending too much is the issue. They ALWAYS have to blame others, because socialist govts ALWAYS run out of (other peoples)money to spend.

So tax cuts aren't also a cause?

On 2/20/2026 at 1:03 AM, JimCM said:

Could there be a link to Israel and tax breaks, given that over a third of US billionaires are Jewish.

https://constitutionalstudies.ning.com/m/discussion?id=6585610%3ATopic%3A428352

Even if your figures are correct, what would the fact of billionaire's ethnicity have to do with Israel? You think Israel is dictating billionaires' efforts at tax avoidance? Do you believe that the other almost 2/3 of billionaires are opposed to the various tax measures that they exploit to pay low taxes?

Read an interesting article on how the rich avoid income tax.......they don't draw an income.

They borrow from private banks and use their shares (say) as collateral.....only paying of the interest charges on the money borrowed, hence avoiding income tax.

17 minutes ago, MIke B Bad said:

Read an interesting article on how the rich avoid income tax.......they don't draw an income.

They borrow from private banks and use their shares (say) as collateral.....only paying of the interest charges on the money borrowed, hence avoiding income tax.

Actually that practice was addressed in the article. And it does point out the shortcomings of the claims of how much the wealthy pay on their income. Technically, of course borrowed funds aren't income. But, in effect, they are.

Nobody has ever made a poor man rich by taxing the rich.

Politics of jealousy.

Just now, Alan Zweibel said:

Actually that practice was addressed in the article. And it does point out the shortcomings of the claims of how much the wealthy pay on their income. Technically, of course borrowed funds aren't income. But, in effect, they are.

There's also something else the article touched on: capital gains. Whatever the merits of favoring incomed earned from selling assets, the argument goes that sooner or later they will be taxed. But that's not necessarily true, And in a major way. When a billionaire dies and passes along his assets to his heirs, the assets won't be subject to taxes until they're sold. But even if they are sold, they're not taxed based on the price that the billionaire paid for them on purchase, but rather on their price upon inheritance. So all the gains that were realized before the inheritance escape taxation.

4 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Nobody has ever made a poor man rich by taxing the rich.

Politics of jealousy.

Then it's a good thing that isn't the goal of eliminating the tax avoidance provisions of the law.

Billionaires and giant corporations need to be taxed properly. As Talarico says, they're the biggest welfare queens and that needs to stop.

Yahoo News

James Talarico says the biggest ‘welfare queens’ in Ameri...

The 2026 Senate hopeful says major corporations cost taxpayers far more than social safety net programs.

2 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Then it's a good thing that isn't the goal of eliminating the tax avoidance provisions of the law.

2 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Tax avoidance is illegal. Tax minimisation is perfectly ok.

I'm sure many members of this forum do, or may have done at some time.

I know I have.

The left uses tax breaks for social engineering, and then they howl when people take advantage of the tax breaks they promote.

Almost half of working people in the US pay no federal income taxes, yet the rich don't pay enough.

The midterms are coming so the left will be howling about the greedy rich and the minimum wage.

Why did Biden not raise taxes again?

6 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

2 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Then it's a good thing that isn't the goal of eliminating the tax avoidance provisions of the law.

2 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Tax avoidance is illegal. Tax minimisation is perfectly ok.

First off, you ineptly replied to me so it looks like I wrote this:

"Tax avoidance is illegal. Tax minimization is perfectly OK"

Those are your words.

And the first sentence is dead wrong, and in the second you've missed the point.

So, no, tax avoidance is not illegal. Tax evasion is illegal.

And just because something is legal, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be changed. And that is the point. Laws are frequently changed to address situations that it's felt need correction. That's what the point is.

2 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

The left uses tax breaks for social engineering, and then they howl when people take advantage of the tax breaks they promote.

Almost half of working people in the US pay no federal income taxes, yet the rich don't pay enough.

The midterms are coming so the left will be howling about the greedy rich and the minimum wage.

Why did Biden not raise taxes again?

The fact is, he did raise taxes:

Key Taxes Introduced or Increased (Enacted):

• Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT): A 15% minimum tax on the adjusted financial statement income of large corporations (over $1 billion in profits), enacted through the Inflation Reduction Act.

• Stock Buyback Tax: A 1% excise tax on the net value of corporate stock repurchases.

He also greatly increased funding to the IRS which the Republicans had left to starve for funding. Now, Trump and the Republicans have killed that.

On 2/19/2026 at 8:52 PM, Wingate said:

The national budget is also falling deeper into disrepair because of the tax cuts the elite demand from self-serving politicians. Since spending in never going to drop (DOGE saved virtually nothing, not even a rounding error, as the deficit continues to soar), repayment falls into the hands of the incoming generation. In fact it eventually will just all blow up. Debt service now exceeds even the bloated defense budget, and with war on the horizon (deflect from Epstein, as Iran is hardly an imminent threat), that will only get worse. $2 trillion per year is now the norm in terms of deficit---and that with still-historically low interest rates. Each upward shift in the Yield Curve of another nominal 1% will add $360 billion in new debt, eventually becoming exponential.

It time to cut spending. The growth of the federal budget is unsustainable.

7 minutes ago, TedG said:

It time to cut spending. The growth of the federal budget is unsustainable.

It's time to raise taxes. The low level they are at after so many tax cuts is unsustainable

5 minutes ago, Alan Zweibel said:

The fact is, he did raise taxes:

Key Taxes Introduced or Increased (Enacted):

• Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT): A 15% minimum tax on the adjusted financial statement income of large corporations (over $1consumers a billion in profits), enacted through the Inflation Reduction Act.

• Stock Buyback Tax: A 1% excise tax on the net value of corporate stock repurchases.

He also greatly increased funding to the IRS which the Republicans had left to starve for funding. Now, Trump and the Republicans have killed that.

Oh, he raised corporate income taxes that the American consumers have to pay, and the benefit foreign companies. Great job lefties!

AI can do a lot better job checking returns. In any event, the billionaire class is not stupid enough to evade taxes. That would be small business owners they would be going after.

1 minute ago, Alan Zweibel said:

The fact is, he did raise taxes:

Key Taxes Introduced or Increased (Enacted):

• Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT): A 15% minimum tax on the adjusted financial statement income of large corporations (over $1 billion in profits), enacted through the Inflation Reduction Act.

• Stock Buyback Tax: A 1% excise tax on the net value of corporate stock repurchases.

He also greatly increased funding to the IRS which the Republicans had left to starve for funding. Now, Trump and the Republicans have killed that.

Dude. I've been taught over and over with you. The US has a spending problem. The federal budget is growing faster than the growth of the GDP. Nothing you talk about will address the federal budget issue.

Federal spending growth ≈ 5–7 % per year

GDP growth ≈ 4–5 % per year

Federal outlays as a share of GDP increased from ~17.5 % in 2000 to ~23% in 2025

2 minutes ago, Alan Zweibel said:

It's time to raise taxes. The low level they are at after so many tax cuts is unsustainable

I agree. It's time every American paid a minimum of 10% on all Income up to $100K, and 20% after that.

4 minutes ago, Alan Zweibel said:

It's time to raise taxes. The low level they are at after so many tax cuts is unsustainable

FFS...you're thick headed. Spending at 23% of the GDP

The federal budget is growing faster then he growth of the GDP. I don't think you understand numbers.

1 minute ago, TedG said:

FFS...you're thick headed. Spending at 23% of the GDP

The federal budget is growing faster then he growth of the GDP. I don't think you understand numbers.

He's a leftist. Anyone that has more than he does needs to pay more.