HOW TO COLLECT TAXES FROM THE SUPER WEALTHY
An article published by truthout.org was entitled, Wealthy Americans Failed to Pay $65.7 Billion in Taxes From 2017 to 2020.
Here are some of the points made:
- U.S. Senator Ron Wyden on Thursday called on the Internal Revenue Service to crack down on “particularly brazen” high-income tax cheats.
- Wyden says that more than 1.4 million wealthy Americans have still not filed their taxes for 2017-2020, with the total amount owed to the federal government reaching “a whopping $65.7 billion”.
- Nearly 1,000 people who earn $1 million per year or more have yet to file their tax returns, but Wyden wrote that the “most alarming” revelation in the data provided to his committee by the IRS “was the extraordinary amount of unpaid taxes owed by a small subset of ultra-wealthy non-filers,” with the 2,000 highest-earning tax dodgers currently owing $923 million.
- These high-earners, said Wyden, have “access to professional advisors and are well aware of their filing obligations with the IRS,” but continue to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars that could support food aid, housing assistance, public health efforts, and other federal programs.
- With tax evasion from previous years still affecting federal coffers, Wyden told Werfel in his letter that the IRS should “initiate enforcement actions against every single millionaire non-filer as part of its ongoing effort to use Inflation Reduction Act funding to restore fairness in tax compliance.”
- “I also urge IRS to utilize the enforcement tools available to it for instances of willful millionaire non-filers,” he added, “including referrals to DOJ for civil or criminal prosecution, liens, and levies.”
Of course, we don’t know how much of this “$65.7 billion owed” is not in dispute by the taxpayers with the IRS appellate branch or is being disputed by the taxpayer in the Tax Court.
We all know that just because the IRS says that a certain amount of federal income tax is owed, that doesn’t necessarily mean, and often doesn’t, that the figure they quote is correct. Unlike the rest of us, the wealthy have the resources to dispute assessments by the IRS in court and often do.
CONCLUSION
Yes, it is true that some billionaires only paid $750 in federal income taxes. It’s also true that other wealthy people paid a lower percentage of their income in taxes than most of the rest of us do.
However, these wealthy people are not doing anything illegal. The truth is that the wealthy have access to the best income tax advisors and don’t need to cheat in order to reduce their federal income tax liability.
Remember, the wealthy have the means to make large contributions to Members of Congress who determine federal income tax policy. Consequently, the Internal Revenue Code is absolutely loaded with special provisions that most people don’t even know exist. These “bought and paid for” special provisions allow wealthy people to reduce their tax liability legally.
This explains why many of the ultra-wealthy are not advocating for the FAIRtax. They know that when everyone is treated equally, they will pay a lot more in federal taxes.
Imagine what a billionaire pays a month for just food and dining. They don’t go to McDonalds or a buffet. No, they go to restaurants where the bill for two is going to be $250 or more. They don’t purchase clothes at regular department stores nor furnish their several homes at IKEA.
A billionaire who spends $50,000 per month above the poverty level will pay $15,000 per month in FAIRtax (30% x $50,000). That’s $150,000 a year.
You won’t find very many FAIRtax supporters among those who feel that it’s other people, not them, who should be paying federal taxes.
Senator Wyden and many of the people screaming the loudest about the wealthy not paying “their fair share” of federal income taxes know that there is a simple and effective solution—the FAIRtax!
So why won’t they support it? The answer is simple. Senator Wyden and most of DC know that the income tax is a terrible system for funding the government. However, it’s a wonderful system for giving politicians control over the population and for providing them nearly unlimited amounts of money they can use to fund their campaigns.
All Senator Wyden has to do is threaten to eliminate a tax break for a special group, like the wealthy, and the campaign contributions pour in to him and others in both parties.
What other reason could there be?
D.C. hates that the FAIRtax will be enforced by the states—not the IRS and not by D.C. bureaucrats.
Members of Congress hate that they will not be able to get huge contributions by threatening to eliminate a tax break for wealthy taxpayers.
The FAIRtax transfers power from Congress and the bureaucrats to the people. We, not D.C., decide how much federal tax we pay.
Only businesses or people who sell new retail goods and provide retail services will have to collect the FAIRtax and remit it to the government.
Since less than 10% of the retailers account for 90% of retail purchases, there will be much less opportunity for evasion.
Why would D.C. pass the FAIRtax and give up this almost unlimited source of donations? The only way that they will is if the rest of us demand it!
Isn’t it time to end this ludicrous tax collection system and the IRS?
There is going to be a vote on the FAIRtax in the House of Representatives. McCarthy and the other elites didn’t want it, but it was forced on them.
We now have the opportunity to force all Members of the House to show where they stand. They can:
- Vote for the present income/payroll tax system or for the FAIRtax.
- Support the corrupt income tax and the IRS or eliminate it. It can’t be any simpler than that.
- Hide the true cost of their government or pass the FAIRtax and show everyone the true cost of government on each retail receipt.
- Support the largest transfer of power from government to the people, the FAIRtax, or not.
If Members think that the FAIRtax needs to be amended to address a problem, then they can propose the change. Don’t let reject the entire bill because it has a perceived “flaw” that can be addressed.
Please stand with us and demand that your representative support a much fairer, much simpler and much more efficient way to fund the government—the FAIRtax!
The FAIRtax doesn’t pick winners and losers. Because it taxes spending, not earnings, the FAIRtax lets everyone save for their retirement tax free.
The FAIRtax will allow us to TAKE BACK CONTROL.
The income/payroll tax system is broken and no longer working—we can’t repair it but we can replace it with the FAIRTAX!
Join us and TAKE BACK CONTROL OF OUR COUNTRY AND OUR LIVES—NOT WITH BULLETS BUT WITH THE ELIMINATION OF ONE OF THE BIGGEST THREATS TO OUR LIBERTY AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY—THE INCOME/PAYROLL TAX.
We all should remember Edmund Burke’s warning that applies to our efforts to TAKE BACK CONTROL,
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”
We should also remember this quote from George Orwell's 1984, which, if we do nothing, may foretell your and your children's future:
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.”
WHAT CAN EACH OF US DO?
We can write letters and make calls to our elected representatives and attend Zoom town hall meetings demanding that if they really want to allow Americans to “TAKE BACK CONTROL”, the first step is to eliminate the income/payroll tax system and enact the FAIRTAX!
TAKE BACK CONTROL! Help us PASS THE FAIRTAX!
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