Taxes and the rich: America’s history of favoritism and crackdowns
Journalism, like history, doesn’t repeat itself, but it can rhyme – loudly.
In 1933, The New York Times revealed that millionaire J. Pierpont Morgan Jr. paid no income tax in the previous two years.
Eighty-eight years later – this month – the investigative news website ProPublica revealed that billionaire Jeff Bezos paid no income tax in 2007 and 2011.
The similarities are striking. Both men were among the richest Americans at a time of high inequality. (Mr. Bezos is now the world’s richest person.) Both appeared to use legal means to cut their taxes, feeding perceptions the system was rigged in favor of the rich. Both exposés appeared months after the inaugurations of Democratic presidents pledging to boost government spending after sharp economic downturns and to tax the rich to pay for it.
In 1933, the revelations about Mr. Morgan were followed by Senate hearings, widespread public indignation, and the New Deal, which sent tax rates for the rich soaring. In 2021, the revelations were followed by …
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