Section: N/A ReadChanges --- URL: https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax type: webpage title: 'The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax' author: - given: Jesse Eisinger family: Kiel suffix: Jeff Ernsthausen,Paul abstract: ProPublica has obtained a vast cache of IRS information showing how billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth — sometimes, even nothing. language: en title-short: The Secret IRS Files container-title: ProPublica --- is an investigative report by ProPublica into taxation of the ultraweathy in the United States, based on Internal Revenue Service data on the tax returns of thousands of the nation's wealthiest people. ## Tax Avoidance ### True tax rate [true tax rate | We’re going to call this their true tax rate]. In order to get a sense of how much taxes these individuals pay, the article compares how much in taxes the 25 richest Americans paid each year to how much Forbes estimated their wealth grew in that same time period. ### Details [pay income taxes | pay income taxes that are only a tiny fraction]. The wealthiest Americans can legally pay income taxes that are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, their fortunes grow each year. [a true tax rate of only 3.4% | a true tax rate of only 3.4%]. From 2014 to 2018, the 25 wealthiest Americans paid a true tax rate of 3.4%. ## Reference ReadChanges
