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> the IRS prosecutes a lot more low-income people than high-income people (by percentage as well as by absolute numbers) I'm not sure how this is relevant. As

> the IRS prosecutes a lot more low-income people than high-income people (by percentage as well as by absolute numbers) I'm not sure how this is relevant. As of October 2020, there were 614 billionaires in the US[1]. Of those 614 people, only a few of them are likely breaking any sort of tax law (billionaires have a lot of money to make sure they take advantage of loopholes, without breaking the law). So there isn't some big list of billionaires that the IRS could be going after but is choosing not to. So the question is, are there known billionaire tax evaders that aren't getting prosecuted? That should be the only question that matters. Using statistics in this case would likely lead to more injustice than less, as the only way you could get billionaire vs non-billionaire prosecutions rates to align is by prosecuting billionaires that aren't breaking the law. (edit: unless there are many billionaire tax evaders that are just getting away with it, of course. I don't know if that's the case or not) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Americans_by_net_worth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Americans_by_net_worth

DyslexicAtheist 6y ago
the typical billionaire can easily go to another country (and immediately get a passport if they wish). it helps looking at this not just from an US/Western pov but how Chinese, Russian, African billionaires are quickly feeling at home in places like US[1], UK, Switzerland. There is a lot more money to be made (and washed) in places like Africa / Asia that requires a "safe haven" [1] the US today is one of the biggest tax-havens in the world (source: "Treasure Island") and the OECD crackdown on the usual suspects (Cayman, Channel Islands, ...) never hurt anyone since the US really just wanted a slice of the off-shore pie (which anyway exists whether with or without the US as a tax-haven).

DyslexicAtheist 6y ago

the typical billionaire can easily go to another country (and immediately get a passport if they wish). it helps looking at this not just from an US/Western pov but how Chinese, Russian, African billionaires are quickly feeling at home in places like US[1], UK, Switzerland. There is a lot more money to be made (and washed) in places like Africa / Asia that requires a "safe haven" [1] the US today is one of the biggest tax-havens in the world (source: "Treasure Island") and the OECD crackdown on the usual suspects (Cayman, Channel Islands, ...) never hurt anyone since the US really just wanted a slice of the off-shore pie (which anyway exists whether with or without the US as a tax-haven).