An investigation has been launched after the IRS seemingly found that Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk paid no income tax.
ProPublica reported on exclusively obtained IRS documents that revealed that many of the US's super-wealthy were legally not paying income tax including Bezos, Musk, Bill Gates, George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg, and Michael Bloomberg.
According to the Tax Policy Center, starting in 2020, those who had an income of over $518,400 were to pay 37% in income tax.
This report by ProPublica, a non-profit organization, showed that the super-wealthy were paying just 3.4% in federal income tax.
They did so completely legally, Sky News reports, as there are various strategies in existence such as charitable donations and the taking of no wages, which can enable very wealthy people to evade income tax.
Reacting to the leak, Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter: "Our tax system is rigged for billionaires who don’t make their fortunes through income, like working families do. The evidence is abundantly clear: it is time for a #WealthTax in America to make the ultra-rich finally pay their fair share."
However, because this information about the super-rich's taxes was disclosed illegally, it is now under investigation by the Biden administration.
"The unauthorized disclosure of confidential government information is illegal," Treasury spokeswoman Lily Adams said.
"The matter is being referred to the Office of the Inspector General, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, all of whom have independent authority to investigate."
"Any unauthorized disclosure of confidential government information by a person of access is illegal and we take this very seriously," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during a briefing.
She went on to stress the Biden administration's stance that the wealthy should pay more taxes in order to bring the president's plans to life.
Psaki added: "I'm not going to comment on specific unauthorized disclosures of confidential government information. I can tell you that, broadly speaking, we know that there is more to be done to ensure that corporations, individuals who are at the highest income are paying more of their fair share. Hence, it's in the President's proposals, his budget, and part of how he's proposing to pay for his ideas."
