IRS: Nearly 1,500 millionaires paid no federal income tax in 2009

[n2doc]

Of an already small pool of millionaires and billionaires, 1,470 didn’t pay any federal income taxes in 2009, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Just over 0.1% of taxpayers -- or 8,274 out of 140 million total -- made more than $10 million in 2009, according to the agency. More than 235,000 taxpayers earned $1 million or more, according to a recent report from the agency.

But of the high earners who avoided paying income taxes, many did so due to heavy charity donations or foreign investments.

About 46% of all American households won’t pay federal income tax in 2011, many due to low income, tax credits for child care and exemptions, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/08/nearly-1500-millionaires-paid-no-taxes-in-2009-says-irs.html

[exboyfil]

1. What is a millionaire?

Is it someone who makes a million dollars in income or someone whose net worth is over $1M?

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. That's a typical Republican question. It's the first question Republicans ask me when I say

that the mega-rich need to be taxed at pre-Reagan rates.

[haele]

5. For tax purposes, a millionaire should be someone who makes a million dollars in realized income -

Someone who has or may have inheirited property or paper (like a 401K account when they're 50 years old) worth just over a million sitting around can claim a "millionaire" on a technicality, but if there is no realized income, he or she should not pay income taxes on it.

Haele

[fasttense]

2. I'll bet my brother in law was one of them.

He and his wife are both doctors. We took them to Biltmore one day when he came down for a visit and it suddenly dawned on him that there were others much richer than he. So, he's been doing everything he can to avoid his taxes.

[Chimichurri]

4. .

[L0oniX]

6. Silly IRS ...they only go after the little people.