Leaked IRS Data Exposes Exactly How Little Tax America’s Top Billionaires Pay

Among the top 25 Warren Buffett has the lowest true tax rate of just 0.1 percent. Between 2014 and 2018, he saw his fortune rose $24.3 billion while paying only $23.7 million in taxes.

The most common ways for the ultra-rich to avoid tax bills are through various deductions—on such items as corporate expenses, charitable donations and investment losses—and holding onto stocks and property that rise in value. Under current U.S. laws, gains from these assets are not considered taxable income until they are sold.

Billionaires rarely sold shares of their own companies, which make up for the majority of their wealth. Losses on outside investments, however, are often reported as part of income in order to lower their tax bills.

In 2011, Bezos reported a negative income due to investment losses. In fact, he made so little on paper that he even claimed and received a $4,000 tax credit for his children. Bezos’s stakes in Amazon was worth $18 billion that year.
Bezos, Musk, Buffett Paid $0 Income Tax In Some Years: Leaked IRS Data | Observer