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So, no, Biden is correct that billionaires generally don't pay very much tax on the money they've earned. Other than the part about it not counting in the US tax code and not how we do things, sure, he's correct.
But that doesn't mean that they haven't actually earned those billions of dollars. They have. And they haven't paid very much in taxes on those vast fortunes. Which means it is a legitimate policy point to note that the tax code treatment of those earnings doesn't result in an especially fair outcome.Not really, and here's another objection I'm going to raise: "Fairness". Is it "fair" that a relatively small number of people pay almost all of the taxes in this country?
ntu.org - Who pays income taxes.
Over the past several decades, lower income earners' share of income taxes has steadily grown smaller as the burden was shifted more and more to the wealthier. These trends stand in stark contrast with the rhetoric about whether people are paying their “fair share.”
The data should inform policymakers that when people are allowed to keep more of their own money, they prosper, move up the economic ladder, and contribute a larger share of the nation’s income tax bill. Indeed. In 1980, the top marginal rate was 70%. The wealthiest 1% paid 19.3% of all income taxes.
Today, the top marginal rate is roughly half that (37%) and the top 1% now pay 45.8% of all income taxes (2021 data).
"Fairness" is a moving goal post, and doesn't necessarily mean what Joe Biden wants it to mean.
