New Report Shows North Carolinians Pay Their Fair Share While Billionaires Skirt By
Ahead of this year’s Tax Day, a report found that U.S. billionaires have gotten $1.7 trillion richer over the first two years of the pandemic, while four of the state’s billionaires got $6 billion richer, according to an analysis by Americans for Tax Fairness and Action NC.
The dramatic increase in wealth comes in contrast to the millions of Americans who faced financial difficulties brought on by the pandemic.
- In recent years, both billionaires and the largest corporations have paid an average tax rate of just 8 percent, with a report from ProPublica finding that the 25 richest Americans paid little to no federal income taxes.
- The Biden Administration and Democrats have pushed forth legislation that would ensure billionaires and corporations pay their fair share through a proposed Billionaire Minimum Income Tax (BMIT).
- Despite support by a majority of Americans across party lines to tax billionaires, Republicans are proposing big tax increases on middle-class families and the elimination of federal programs such as social security, Medicare, and Medicaid in the next five years.
This year’s Tax Day highlighted the contrasting priorities of leaders across the aisle. President Biden and Democrats are focused on working to lower costs for families, sending tax cuts to middle-class families, while ensuring the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share.
For Republicans, protecting ultra-wealthy individuals who have paid little to no taxes and put further financial pressure on middle-class families seems to be their priority.
As a recent editorial states, “North Carolinians deserve leaders that are serious about tackling the most pressing issues that families are facing, not push the interests of the ultra-wealthy and big corporations that are getting rich by spiking costs on hard-working Americans”.
