This is the biggest problem I have with billionaires. It's not that they avoid paying taxes, it's that they get laws specifically tailored to them and their business interests. The issue I have is that they are eroding our capitalism and our democracy because they have such undo influence. And they continually use that influence to gain more wealth while passing laws that make it easier to take and exploit from us for their benefit and we are all left holding the bags. The only socialism going on in America is corporate socialism. When we, as tax payers, have to bail out big banks because they make bad business decisions, when we subsidize Bezos's jaunt into space, we are not only letting these guys off the hook, but we are actually paying out more in taxes TO them, so that their businesses can be profitable. If your business plan banks on your employees being able to get government aid, you don't have a profitable business.I think the elephant in the room is that they use their insane wealth to influence government creation of tax law in the first place and to lobby against anyone even thinking that billionaires should even consider paying an equitable tax rate.
Oh I'm sure it's a lackey that does all of this, but it's not so much that I get annoyed that they use loop holes, but moreso that they are usually the ones advocating to congress to keep all their loopholes in place. I also get very annoyed when tax payers are expected to subsidize private business or private individuals (like Bezos in Space) but we don't get anything for it. We didn't get any stock for bailing out banks or helping billionaires get to space. These individuals and their companies are supposedly making money hand over fist. If that's true, then why is it that the taxpayer constantly has to bail out corporations? If these corporations are ducking out on taxes, should they get taxpayer funds? Why didn't we get anything from AIG for helping bail them out? Why don't we send WalMart the bill for the government aid that their employees are forced to accept because WM doesn't pay a living wage?Yeah but I guess what I'm saying is that it's more like Bezos' assistant going down and getting that free soup and then bringing it back to him. The buck stops with him, no doubt. But it wouldn't surprise me at. all. if he learned about his claim of that tax credit through the same news story that you and I learned about it from. He's just some guy paying other people with a mission statement that I imagine amounts to "keep me rich and save me money." To Joe's point, that directive obviously has far-reaching and profound implications in how it's applied by the people who have a financial incentive to do so. But how far into the weeds is he personally going about each and every deduction or credit? I genuinely don't know the answer to the question of just how familiar the hyper-rich are with their own taxes.
The problem I have with all of it is that these corporations and billionaires hire a bevy of lawyers and accountants to make sure they pay as little taxes as they can, and then turn around and ask for tax payer money constantly. They constantly whine that they should be where they are because of capitalism, but with their influence making laws, they push anti-competitive legislation to keep them where they are. I know that if I have never worked or only worked part time, I wouldn't be eligible for unemployment services, because I never paid into the system. We need to start demanding that they pay into the system if they want something out of it. And we should be getting financial assets from these corporations and people whenever we bail them out.