The Spark

the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist

“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx

Filthy Rich People Here Hide Their Money in the U.S., Not in Panama

Apr 25, 2016

America’s filthy rich people are hiding trillions of dollars in plain sight, according to MarketWatch.com. This web-site belongs to the Dow Jones network, which also owns the Wall Street Journal.

This is done quite legally, without the rich sending their fortunes to Panama, or the British Virgin Islands, or any other sunny place for shady people. Because the rich people of the U.S. own the Congress that writes the tax code for their benefit.

In a nutshell, income is taxed, but wealth isn’t, as dictated by this tax code. For example, a worker earning $50,000 a year must pay payroll, state and federal taxes. But a filthy-rich so-called “investor” with 10 billion dollars in assets pays no taxes, because of the big loopholes in the tax code. For example, the rich avoid taxes by supposed charitable donations to foundations they set up to protect their interests. Nor do the rich pay much tax on their earnings on giant funds they own or run, if their earnings are paid into these funds. Rich people like Donald Trump can avoid paying taxes by charging “depreciation” against their cash income each year. So on and on.

Bottom line: the workers actually pay the taxes, but not the rich.

“A country’s laws express its values. Our tax laws place people who work for a living at the bottom of the pile—and those who inherit money at the top,” according to MarketWatch.

Yes, indeed, those are exactly the values defended by both big parties, which set up these tax laws.