(My State Line) - WASHINGTON D.C. (WTVO) – The richest people in America have avoided paying roughly $163 billion each year in taxes, causing the estimated tax gap to increase, according to the Treasury Department.
The Treasury Department found that due to wealthy Americans avoiding payment of their taxes, the gap has been elevated to about $600 billion annually, with an estimated $7 trillion in lost revenue over the next 10 years, according to CBS News.
Officals say having the means to employ tax experts shield the rich from reporting their true incomes. Lower-income Americans must report almost all of their earned income while the top 1% are possibly only reporting a fraction of their own, driving the estimated tax gap even higher.
The Biden administration, as well as Democratic lawmakers, are urging the wealthiest corporations and private citizens in the country to “pay their fair share,” going as far as proposing to increase IRS enforcement and income reporting.
An $80 billion increase in the IRS’ budget over the next 10 years will be used to help increase tax enforcement, as proposed by the Biden administration, as well as having financial institutions provide third-party reporting, so the IRS can focus their efforts on sophisticated tax evasion.
