I think the problem is that most of us define “rich” by the accumulation of wealth, but for tax purposes it’s usually defined as annualized earned income. Many billionaires pull no salary, and manage to defer capital gains so effectively pay very little tax.
They also simply don’t pay taxes. Tax cheats cost the US roughly a trillion dollars every year, and almost all of it is attributed to the top 5%. If you’re wealthy enough to hide your earnings, you are also wealthy enough to fight the IRS and make it too expensive to recover. It’s cheaper to buy politicians who defund the IRS than it is to pay your fair share.
I think the problem is that most of us define “rich” by the accumulation of wealth, but for tax purposes it’s usually defined as annualized earned income. Many billionaires pull no salary, and manage to defer capital gains so effectively pay very little tax.
They also simply don’t pay taxes. Tax cheats cost the US roughly a trillion dollars every year, and almost all of it is attributed to the top 5%. If you’re wealthy enough to hide your earnings, you are also wealthy enough to fight the IRS and make it too expensive to recover. It’s cheaper to buy politicians who defund the IRS than it is to pay your fair share.