There are still monarchies in the world, but they are a dwindling number, and we believe our forefathers broke that yoke here with our American Revolution. Monarchies are determined by royal blood. Royalty inherits royalty. Many people are unaware we actually do have a monarchy in the U.S., one determined and authorized by money. There’s no king or queen; Our throne is money, lots of money, and special ways of making more and keeping more. The IRS released a report recently indicating our nation should not accept tax-dodging by the wealthy as an inevitable. The service reported the rich continue to find ways to not pay taxes and that the general knowledge elicits no more than a passing yawn. That’s unbelievable in a so-called democracy. The IRS reported that the best-off taxpayers, those with incomes of $200,000 or more a year, continue to find legal ways to make their federal tax obligation $0. Worse, the report found that this is occurring at a pace not seen for decades. From 1977 through 2000, the number of high-income Americans paying no taxes never exceeded 3,000. But the past four years have seen an explosion of high-end tax avoiders. In each of those years, the number of Americans avoiding taxes exceeded 30,000. In 2011, the most recent year for which data is available, almost 33,000 people with incomes over $200,000 paid no federal income tax. For this group, less than 1 percent of all Americans with incomes over $200,000, tax-exempt bond interest and itemized deductions were among the main tax breaks making the tax-avoidance feat possible. Much of this information was reported by Bernie Sanders, the U.S. senator from Vermont. There have been scores of reports on inequality in recent years of which all voters should have heard. I believe wealth inequality may be our largest threat to democracy. Hopefully it isn’t too late. In 1977, Congress mandated the IRS publish a report annually to help policymakers understand whether high-income tax avoidance was an ongoing problem, and to (presumably) help build a case for reform. The latest report paints a clear picture of a growing problem. The good news is tax reforms included in President Barack Obama’s budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year would pare back tax breaks for itemized deductions and bond interest, resulting in important strides in restoring high-income Americans to the tax rolls. Will Congress approve this? Whether it is the gigantic Fortune 500 corporations doing it or super-rich individuals, tax avoidance has a corrosive effect on the public’s confidence in our tax system; it perpetrates worsening income inequality. Ensuring that the best-off Americans “have some skin in the game” should be a priority of reform. Inequality of wealth always will be a factor in a capitalistic democracy. Citizens realize all people and organizations are not equal. We wish to have the best of our super citizens receive adequate reward, but there is a limit in a democracy operating for and by the people. We need more people who realize our problem to speak out. And, more especially, we need them to vote. It is not a new problem but is continuing to worsen. President Harry Truman deplored the problem years ago when he said: “Wall Street, with all its ability to control all the wealth of the nation and to hire the best law brains in the country, has not produced some statesmen, some men who could see the dangers of bigness and the concentration of the control of wealth. … They are still using the best law brains to serve greed and self-interest.” It is time for democracy to kick in again. Bernie Hughes of Superior is professor emeritus of educational administration at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
There are still monarchies in the world, but they are a dwindling number, and we believe our forefathers broke that yoke here with our American Revolution.Monarchies are determined by royal blood. Royalty inherits royalty.Many people are unaware we actually do have a monarchy in the U.S., one determined and authorized by money. There’s no king or queen; Our throne is money, lots of money, and special ways of making more and keeping more.The IRS released a report recently indicating our nation should not accept tax-dodging by the wealthy as an inevitable. The service reported the rich continue to find ways to not pay taxes and that the general knowledge elicits no more than a passing yawn. That’s unbelievable in a so-called democracy. The IRS reported that the best-off taxpayers, those with incomes of $200,000 or more a year, continue to find legal ways to make their federal tax obligation $0. Worse, the report found that this is occurring at a pace not seen for decades.From 1977 through 2000, the number of high-income Americans paying no taxes never exceeded 3,000. But the past four years have seen an explosion of high-end tax avoiders. In each of those years, the number of Americans avoiding taxes exceeded 30,000.In 2011, the most recent year for which data is available, almost 33,000 people with incomes over $200,000 paid no federal income tax. For this group, less than 1 percent of all Americans with incomes over $200,000, tax-exempt bond interest and itemized deductions were among the main tax breaks making the tax-avoidance feat possible.Much of this information was reported by Bernie Sanders, the U.S. senator from Vermont. There have been scores of reports on inequality in recent years of which all voters should have heard. I believe wealth inequality may be our largest threat to democracy.Hopefully it isn’t too late.In 1977, Congress mandated the IRS publish a report annually to help policymakers understand whether high-income tax avoidance was an ongoing problem, and to (presumably) help build a case for reform. The latest report paints a clear picture of a growing problem.The good news is tax reforms included in President Barack Obama’s budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year would pare back tax breaks for itemized deductions and bond interest, resulting in important strides in restoring high-income Americans to the tax rolls. Will Congress approve this?Whether it is the gigantic Fortune 500 corporations doing it or super-rich individuals, tax avoidance has a corrosive effect on the public’s confidence in our tax system; it perpetrates worsening income inequality. Ensuring that the best-off Americans “have some skin in the game” should be a priority of reform.Inequality of wealth always will be a factor in a capitalistic democracy. Citizens realize all people and organizations are not equal. We wish to have the best of our super citizens receive adequate reward, but there is a limit in a democracy operating for and by the people. We need more people who realize our problem to speak out. And, more especially, we need them to vote.It is not a new problem but is continuing to worsen. President Harry Truman deplored the problem years ago when he said: “Wall Street, with all its ability to control all the wealth of the nation and to hire the best law brains in the country, has not produced some statesmen, some men who could see the dangers of bigness and the concentration of the control of wealth. … They are still using the best law brains to serve greed and self-interest.”It is time for democracy to kick in again.Bernie Hughes of Superior is professor emeritus of educational administration at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
