(AURN News) — A new study from University of California, Berkeley economists finds the nation’s richest households are taxed at lower rates than everyday Americans.
The team of economists linked Forbes 400 lists with IRS tax filings from 2010 through 2020.
They found that between 2018 and 2020, the nation’s wealthiest 400 people paid an average effective tax rate of 23.8%. That was lower than the 30% rate for the overall population and far below the 45% paid by top wage earners.
Researchers said the gap is largely because billionaires report far less taxable income compared with their overall economic income.
The study also highlighted the rapid rise in billionaire wealth over the past four decades. In 1982, the inaugural year of Forbes’ rankings, the top 400 Americans held 0.9% of household wealth. By 2025, that share had grown to 4.1%.
Charitable giving was also included in the analysis. The authors wrote that the top 400 donate an average of 0.6% of their wealth each year.
The researchers concluded that the wealthiest Americans’ effective tax rates have dropped sharply in recent years, down from about 30% earlier in the decade.
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