ProPublica Report: How The Wealthiest Are Avoiding Paying Income Taxes

Tax experts Dorothy Brown and David Cay Johnston join Lawrence O'Donnell to discuss how a new ProPublica report on the wealthiest Americans avoiding income taxes proves that “we do not have a progressive tax system in America.”
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39 comments

  1. In summary, when you pay the people who are in charge of writing the rules, the rules are going to work in your favor.

  2. Friendly reminder that the Stable Genius, the so-called “champion of the working class,” paid less federal taxes than most of his working class supporters.
    But keep donating to that re-election campaign! No self-made “billionaire” should be made to suffer paying for his own campaign. 😅😂

    1. A couple of decades ago we joked about the “Bill Gates Poverty Fund”. If we’re to believe that Trump is as rich as he touts himself then that old parody has become reality.

  3. How? It was perfectly legal.
    We should pay attention to congress, the ones who are involved in making these laws.

  4. Yes! It blows my mind when I see people who are struggling to make ends meet, voting to elect people who will only reduce taxes for the rich, and not for them.

    1. It blows my mind when I see people who are struggling to make ends meet voting to elect people who will tax the people who create the jobs and pay the salaries. Thus reducing how much they can afford to pay you and how many people they can hire. Also they vote for the very people who tell you the rich aren’t paying their fair share and then increase taxes without making any effort to remove the loopholes that permit the wealthy from having to pay those taxes. When you continuously increase taxes and you neglect to remove the loopholes the burden of paying those taxes falls on everyone below them.

      Ask yourself this. Why is it that most of these uber wealthy people who hardly pay any taxes support candidates that say they will increase taxes on them and then they never end up paying it? You’re being scammed.

      By the way when republicans lower taxes they lower it across the board. On the wealthy, middle class and poor. Don’t buy the line of “Tax breaks for the rich”. When you fight those tax breaks you also fight lowering taxes for yourselves.

  5. Tomorrow on facebook your cousin Jeff, the grocer, will say how taxing billionaires will to lead to communism .

  6. It’s economic warfare …class warfare, and we have been pit against each other. While we fight one another for meager wages and dead end jobs, they skate.

    1. No it’s not, many people are in debt to the IRS for tax evasion. Some go to prison or have their bank accounts seized.

  7. Color blind reporting!
    All the billionaires who pay no taxes are WHITE, and not a word is said. How do *you* spell Systemic Culturally Endemic Racism?
    I think we have a teaching moment here that Dorothy Brown just danced in brilliantly!
    Good guest pick Lawrence!

    1. Maybe one day, the black Jeff Bezos will emerge from his Scrooge McDuck vault full of money, and he too, can go the dirtbag route and dip out on paying taxes on his sci fi corporation level of wealth …it’s gotta be right around the corner! black president in 2008? America was being hip!

    2. Where is it written that black billionaires pay taxes that white ones don’t. Your statement is racist.

  8. No need to make this a racial argument. The same problems exist in other countries. South Africa for instance. By turning this into a racial argument you reinforce and perpetuate racism.

  9. *REPUBLICANS without LINCOLN:* _The Cicadas Childhood_
    Most of the 17 years of the life of a ‘Cicada’ is being children & infants. Then suddenly they emerge full adults for a few weeks SCREAMING and MAKING a MESS Everywhere they GO!…. just like Trump!

  10. The companies they operate use every infrastructure available to get their product to market, so, why is it unfair to have them contribute to it’s maintenance like the other 99%?
    “Free market” for them means a free ride? Call them on it you should, and instantly you’re a communist all of a sudden? Meh.!

  11. Here’s what i’d like 2C – a complete/comprehensive breakdown: of all the Senators- Income/Wealth AND their top 10 Donors and How Much! those of manchin and mcconnell come to mind most especially!!

  12. I’m trying to figure out why I should care about how other people spend their money?

    Anyway, the Whiteness of Wealth is a good book. Y’all should read it.

    1. Seeing alot of success stories, he must be honest and trustworthy for people to talk this good about him

  13. This is why the rich are getting richer (and will fight to keep it that way), while the poor get poorer. Outrageous!

  14. And putting one trillion in a secret trust fund overseas tax free is also perfectly legal and done all the time. Again, gang of hypocrites

  15. You know this is not being reported on Fox, but do people realize it’s also not being reported be ABC CBS NBC?

  16. Dorothy Brown is not the person to front their effort! She wants to make it all about my whiteness!

  17. 😂 I can’t believe everyone is so surprised about this. If you knew about finance and basic fiscal optimisation, you’d know that’s common practice.

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