Letter: Tax code favors corporations, wealthy

With rising inflation and economic pain, it's time to ensure fairness in our nation's tax system. Since the Supreme Court ruled that "corporations are people," they should pay taxes like people. Yet by sending profits abroad, companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple often pay little or no federal tax.

The current tax code also favors wealthy individuals. ProPublica reported that billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their enormous wealth. In 2021, economic researchers from Carnegie Mellon and other institutions found that the top 1% of income earners fail to report nearly 20% of their income.

In October 2022, the IRS released a report showing the estimated gross tax gap - the difference between taxes owed and taxes paid - increased to $496 billion. Not surprisingly, audits on incomes over $1 million have dropped 71% since 2010, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, due to a 19% cut in the IRS budget.

Last, wealth managers help their clients bypass the estate taxes that are supposed to correct this revenue imbalance by taxing assets the wealthiest Americans accumulate over their lifetimes.

The Inflation Reduction Act created a 15% minimum tax rate for corporations with at least $1 billion in income. It also directs $80 billion in new funding to the IRS to aid in enforcement against millionaire and billionaire tax dodgers. It's not enough.

Buffett has been quoted saying, "My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice."

There is too much talk about the necessity of raising the retirement age to 70 for key government benefits like Medicare and Social Security. I want to hear more about tax reform.

Donna Limper

Bloomingdale