Disclosure report Bezos, Musk and Co. hardly paid any taxes

As of: 06/09/2021 05:04 a.m.

A new report reveals that the richest Americans hardly pay any income tax – among them Amazon founder Bezos and Tesla boss Musk. The tax authority wants to determine how the confidential data became public. By Torsten Teichmann, ARD studio Washington In 2007, multibillionaire Jeff Bezos didn’t pay a dime in US income tax. In 2011, too, the Amazon founder offset his income against losses so much that the US tax authority IRS granted him an income-related child allowance of 4,000 US dollars. This had often been speculated about. But now the numbers are known. The foundation for investigative journalism ProPublica quotes from Bezos tax return. These tax tricks are not illegal. But the network of loopholes and discounts remains denied to most Americans due to lack of assets. They move from salary to salary, as US President Joe Biden complains time and again: “Sometimes I argue with friends in the Democratic Party about it: It’s okay to be a billionaire or a millionaire, but pay your fair share.”

What tax amounts are fair for the rich?

But how much should the top 0.01 percent in the US contribute financially to society? There is a dispute about this. The ProPublica report rekindles this debate. The foundation has obtained official tax documents from thousands of the richest Americans, says the journalist Jesse Eisinger involved in the NPR radio station. They cover a period of 15 years. ProPublica initially refers to the reported income from the tax returns of the 25 richest Americans and the increase in wealth over the period that is not taxed. In addition to Bezos, Tesla founder Elon Musk, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and New York’s ex-Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be there.

If we look at the actual tax on capital growth – which is essentially your income – then its tax rate is 3.4 percent. For people like Jeff Bezos or Warren Buffet, it’s even less.

Far from the top tax rate of 37 percent

The investor Warren Buffet paid 0.1 percent tax on income and asset growth between 2014 and 2018, ProPublica calculates. At Bezos it is just under one percent. Americans pay an average of 14 percent income tax. The top tax rate would be 37 percent. America’s billionaires are far from that. The Biden administration reacted cautiously to the findings. Any unauthorized publication of government documents is against the law, said Biden’s spokeswoman Jen Psaki. The Ministry of Finance is trying to clarify how the tax returns have come to the public.

Generally speaking, we know that more needs to be done to ensure that businesses and high-income citizens do more of their fair share. This is what the President says in his proposals, in his budget, and this is how he wants to pay for his proposals. A government proposal provides for higher taxes for households with an annual income of more than $ 400,000. According to the ProPublica report, however, it is completely unclear whether a corresponding reform will generate additional income as long as the loopholes in the tax laws of the USA are not closed.

Facebook icon. (Photo: AFP/VNA) According to Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Sydney, Facebook technology group has paid 20 million AUD (about 16 million USD). Sales tax in Australia in 2020. Figures from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show that in the 2020 financial year, Facebook has weathered the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; Accordingly, the total advertising revenue of this group in Australia is AUD 712.7 million (about USD 570 million), higher than the figure of AUD 674 million in 2019. However, Facebook paid A$559 million to an overseas subsidiary for “ad resale,” causing net income 2020 is only 155.3 million AUD, lower than 167.1 million AUD in 2019. Accordingly, the company’s pre-tax profit was AUD 37.9 million. With this profit, the company paid 20 million AUD, compared with 16.7 million in 2019. A Facebook spokesperson said that in the last financial year, the company has pay income tax in Australia at more than 30% under local tax laws. While the two “tech giants” Facebook and Google both recorded growth in 2020 in Australia, many local media companies had to cut costs and in some cases had to cut jobs due to advertising revenue. reported a drop of up to 30%. Facebook is currently actively negotiating with several Australian media outlets about paying for their news content to appear on Facebook’s Newsfeed feature. So far, Facebook has officially signed a contract with two major media agencies, Seven West Media and News Corp, and according to some sources, Facebook will sign an official agreement with Nine Entertainment Co within the next 2 weeks. . Facebook is also negotiating with Guardian Australia and national broadcaster ABC.

Facebook logo at headquarters in Menlo Park, California, USA. Photo: AFP/VNA According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Sydney, data from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission shows that in the 2020 financial year, Facebook has overcome the worst effects of the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and made a profit. Total advertising revenue in “Kangaroo country” was AUD 712.7 million (equivalent to USD 570 million), up from AUD 674 million in 2019. However, Facebook paid $559 million to an overseas subsidiary for ad inventory-related content, bringing the company’s net revenue to just $155.3 million. As a result, Facebook’s pre-tax profit was AUD 37.9 million, and with this profit, the company paid AUD 20 million (USD 16 million) in taxes, compared with AUD 16.7 million in 2019. A Facebook spokesperson said that in the last financial year, the company paid income tax in Australia at rates above 30% under local tax law. While tech giants Facebook and Google both recorded growth in 2020 in Australia, many local media outlets have had to cut costs and in some cases cut jobs due to business reasons. Advertising revenue dropped by 30%. Facebook is currently actively negotiating with several Australian media companies about paying for their news content to appear on the social network’s Newsfeed feature. So far, Facebook has officially signed contracts with two major media agencies, Seven West Media and News Corp, and according to some sources, will sign a formal agreement with Nine Entertainment Co within the next two weeks. Meanwhile, negotiations with Guardian Australia and national broadcaster ABC are still ongoing.

Photo is for illustration only. (Source: CNBC) Closing the last session of the week, the main indicators are above Wall Street stock market All went up thanks to positive data on economic activity and new home sales in the US, however, the rise of the 23/4 session did not compensate for the decline for the whole week of volatile trading. . In the first session of April 19, the US stock market went down due to profit-taking activities after the Dow Jones and S&P 500 index ended last week at record highs. The decline continued into the next session (April 20) when stock prices fell amid concerns about pricing and the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic that had a strong impact on markets and investor sentiment. private. Coming to session 21/4, the indices regained momentum after two previous declining sessions, with most sectors having an active session, when experts commented that market movements declined in The previous session is the signal for investors to buy. However, at the end of April 22, the indexes all declined significantly, although the number of applications for unemployment benefits for the first time in this country was lower than expected. Markets flooded in red after Bloomberg News and several other firms reported that President Joe Biden intends to propose an increase in capital-gains tax from 20% to 39.6% for individuals with income of more than 1 million USD / year. In the last session of the week 23/4, investor sentiment recovered thanks to a series of positive profit reports from large enterprises and data showing the “healthy” state of the US economy. Closing the session on April 23, the Dow Jones industrial index rose 0.7% to 34,043.49, the S&P 500 composite index advanced 1.1% to 4,180.17, and the Nasdaq Technology Index rose 1. , 4% and closed at 14,016.81 points. However, for the whole week, the Dow Jones decreased by 0.5%, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq decreased by 0.1% and 0.3 compared to the previous week. Regarding the proposed tax increase for the richest class of the US, experts say the plan is in line with Mr. Biden’s campaign commitments, but the rate of tax increase is likely to be narrowed in negotiations in the National Assembly of this country. Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, commented that the 39.6% figure is not surprising, but actual developments show that the current financial market is more “sensitive” to bad news and this is the period. volatile paragraphs. American market strategist David Joy of Ameriprise Financial, also noticed stock prices are recovering after the market reacted unexpectedly to news that the White House would propose a tax increase while President Biden mentioned to this issue while campaigning. Besides, senior market analyst for America at OANDA, Mr. Edward Moya pointed out that factors contributing to the stock market’s rally are positive data about the US economy. According to a report by the US Department of Commerce, new home sales in March (seasonally adjusted to increase) reached 1,021 million units – up 20.7% from the previous month. The IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in the manufacturing sector rose from 59.1 in March to a record 60.5 in April. Meanwhile, the PMI of the service sector also increased from 60.4 points to 63.1. The 50-point threshold defines whether an economy is growing or declining. The IHS Markit PMI is considered a prestigious indicator of “economic health.” In general, the profit of the companies that reported early were all higher than expected. According to IBES Refinitiv, the first quarter profit of enterprises is expected to increase by 33.9% over the same period last year. Ron Temple, head of the US equities division at Lazard Asset Management, said the US economy is expected to see its strongest growth in 50 years, with growth of more than 6% both this year and next year. Federal Reserve (Fed) will allow the economy to accelerate faster than before, further boosting prospects for high growth./.

Closing the session on Thursday, the Dow Jones dropped by 321.41 points (1%) to 33,815.90 points. This index sometimes bottomed out when it dropped to 420 points. The S&P 500 index lost its momentum at the beginning of the session and lost 0.9% at the close to 4,134.98 points. The Nasdaq Composite also fell 0.9 percent, to 13,818.41 points. The Dow Jones decreased to 321.41 points (1%) to 33,815.90 points at the close of the session on April 22. Photo: AP Bloomberg News on April 22 reported that President Biden is planning to raise surplus tax to increase capital to 43.4% for wealthy Americans. The proposal would raise the capital gains tax rate to 39.6 percent for those earning $ 1 million or more, up from the current 20 percent, according to Bloomberg News. Then, Reuters news agency and The New York Times also reported on this issue. Jack Ablin, founding partner and chief executive officer of Cresset Capital Management, commented: “Mr. Biden’s proposal doubled the capital surplus tax rate for those earning $ 1 million. That is quite a cost increase for long term investors. According to Ablin, a wave of sell-off on Wall Street is expected to appear this year if investors feel this proposal has a chance to become law next year. The bulls led the decline in Thursday’s trading. Shares of Tesla and Amazon lost 3.3% and 1.6%, respectively. Before the news of the proposed tax increase, the major indexes fluctuated slightly as investors waited for the series of business results reports that major technology companies are expected to release next week. “Market cash flow is currently focused on a few growth stocks”, Mr. Mark Yusko – CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management said. “Because investors are afraid of a shock increase in the securities interest tax, investors can sell off to take profits and push the market into an adjustment zone”. Shares of Southwest Airlines also turned down 1.6% at the end of the session, although the airline announced that the number of bookings for travel continues to increase and is expected to break even or make a profit next June. Shares Dow Inc. down 6% even after the chemical company surpassed expected revenue and profit in the first quarter of 2021. However, as of the beginning of this year, the stock Dow Inc. is still up nearly 10%. Most companies are currently recording results exceeding Wall Street’s expectations this earnings season, but the first quarter’s strong results did not help the market soar after repeatedly setting record levels. in recent weeks. Regarding economic data, the US Department of Labor on April 22 said that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time was 547,000 people last week, lower than the forecast of 603,000 by Dow Jones. Also on April 22, the Republican Party made a plan to oppose the US President Joe Biden’s $ 2,000 billion infrastructure investment package. Senators have proposed a $ 568 billion package that includes funding for bridges, airports and water systems. This proposal does not include tax increases. However, concerns about the capital gain tax increase could be overblown as Democrats hold a narrow majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which may make it difficult to pass any proposals. Be positive ./.