The Huffington Post has published an article titled "American Millionaires: 1,400 paid no U.S. Income Tax in 2009" by Alexander Eichler. In his article Eichler discusses IRS Publication 1304, which is a compilation of statistics from 2009's individual tax returns. Eichler points out that of the 253,413 taxpayers who earned $1 million or more a total 1,470 of those taxpayers paid no U.S. income tax in 2009. In the same year the overall number of taxpayers fell by nearly 2 million, the number of 1040EZ return filers dropped by 23 percent, and the average salary of taxpayers dropped by approximately $3,500. Eichler's article also features quotes from Cleary Gottlieb alum and current University of Southern California professor Edward Kleinbard. Kleinbard offers his analysis of the publication indicating that the statistics reflect the devastating impact of the recession on "real Americans." According to Kleinbard, in 2008 those taxpayers who were "at the bottom rung of the economic ladder" found themselves "taken off the ladder entirely." Neither Kleinbard nor Eichler suggest any explanation for the 1,470 millionaires who did not pay U.S. income taxes in 2009.
Hat Tip: TaxProf Blog
Posted by Jason Tyler Young, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal
Leave a comment