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SUBSCRIPT: The superrich may be greedy, but they aren't stupid... 'Responsible Wealth' organizing the superrich to raise taxes on the superrich

George N. Schmidt - April 02, 2011

If you, like most Americans, are wrestling this week and next with a federal (and state) tax return that you can't afford to have done by your accountant — and with earnings that are almost all reported on the W-2 (or perhaps a straight 1099) — it's possible you don't even realize that most of the federal tax scams now legal are for people who rarely receive a W-2. Really? How? Most of the superrich will tell you that most of their annual "earnings" are either deferred or reported in the more exotic edges of the 1099. (Or, as in the cases of Chicago's premier plutocrats — the Pritzker family — through trusts established long ago with Post Office boxes in Nassau, Bahamas).

While some of the superrich are talking about "responsible wealth," the weekly newspaper of the superrich, Barron's, was celebrating the victories of American capitalism over everybody else in its April 4 edition. For those taxpayers who don't usually spend more than $300 per year to read what the wealthiest "demographic" in mainstream publishing reads (the average Barron's reader controls more than $1 million in "assets" — and we're not talking about a heavily mortgaged bungalow in Skokie or Edison Park), Barron's is worth a visit now and then. Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric, is featured talking about GE's turnaround without a mention of how most of GE is now making dollars through "financial engineering" that has enabled the corporation to pay zero U.S. corporate income taxes.But some of the superrich realize that you may find out, especially during the weeks when you are filing your own tax returns and discover that you are paying more taxes than General Electric (which, as The New York Times reported a week ago, just paid zero federal corporate income taxes, thanks to how the federal tax laws are rigged for big corporations and the superrich). While Barack Obama picks the head of GE to be his chief liaison to corporate American, some of the supperrich are already preparing to head off the whirlwind that they have been sowing for nearly 40 years. Those are the years when they bought Congress (and both Democratic and Republican Presidents) to rig the federal tax game against the working people of the USA — and in order to make themselves richer, then the richest people in the history of earth.

We don't know from the histories whether Marie Antoinette finally figured out that the peasants weren't truly happy with her and Louis XVI, or whether someone was able to tell Czar Nicholas that the men in his vast armies were cold, tired, and angry that they were being supplied with inadequate weapons and ammunition that was more a danger to the Russian infantryman than it was to his German adversary. Whatever the warning, it was either ignored or it came too late.

But as April 15 approaches again and focuses the attention on America's working class people on who pays taxes (us) and who doesn't (people with last names like Pritzker, Gates, Crown, Broad, Griffin, and Walton), a group of wealthy Americans is trying to warn its own class that being too greedy for too long can be counterproductive.

But let them tell their own story: "Responsible Waelth" is calling for higher taxes on the rich. "Responsible Wealth, a project of United for a Fair Economy (UFE)," says their recent on line press release, "is a network of 700 business leaders, high-wealth, and high-income individuals advocating for progressive tax policy and corporate accountability."

As they are noting, if the wealthiest plutocrats are not careful, they and their families end up like the Bourbons or the Romanovs. Greed is not as good as Gordon Gecko parodied.

HERE IS THEIR PRESS RELEASE:

Upper-Income Taxpayers Call for Higher Tax Rates on their Investment Income

Contacts: Mazher Ali - 617-423-2148 x101, mali@faireconomy.org, Mike Lapham - 617-423-2148 x112, mlapham@responsiblewealth.org

Note: High-income spokespeople giving part of their tax savings away will be available for interview beginning next week.

Boston, MA (April 1, 2011) – As Congress wrestles with budget cuts of $33 billion or more, and states across the nation struggle with the loss of federal aid to states, one group of high-income individuals is stepping up to be part of the solution.

On Thursday, April 7, 2010, Responsible Wealth will be launching its new campaign to focus attention on a special treatment in our tax code that rewards income from wealth over income from work. As part of this educational campaign, Responsible Wealth and its parent organization United for a Fair Economy (UFE) have created a new, interactive tax calculator that estimates the tax savings individuals and families receive from the special treatment of capital gains and dividend income, along with their savings from the income tax cuts enacted under President Bush in 2001 and 2003.

The new calculator will be launched on Thursday, April 7 and will include graphic and interactive features. Supporters who use the tax calculator will have the option to take the Tax Fairness Pledge, pledging all or a portion of their tax savings to groups working to promote a more progressive tax system.

High-income and high-wealth individuals who believe their investment income should be taxed at a higher rate will be available for interview beginning next week.

Additional updates and press release to follow.

Responsible Wealth, a project of United for a Fair Economy (UFE), is a network of 700 business leaders, high-wealth, and high-income individuals advocating for progressive tax policy and corporate accountability.

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