Post by @moneywithkatie
88% credible (92% factual, 81% presentation). The claim that the author's 26% effective tax rate in 2023 exceeds those of billionaires like Bezos and Buffett aligns with established patterns of lower effective tax rates for billionaires, though specific 2023 figures for the billionaires are undisclosed. The presentation quality is reduced by omission framing, as it fails to clarify that the author's 'effective tax rate' likely refers to income rather than wealth growth.
Analysis Summary
The author expresses frustration upon realizing their 26% effective tax rate in 2023 surpasses those of Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett, highlighting systemic tax disparities. Historical data confirms billionaires like Buffett (0.1% true rate 2014-2018) and Bezos (0.98%) often pay far lower effective rates on wealth growth compared to wage earners. While 2023-specific figures are not publicly detailed, patterns from IRS leaks and reports suggest the claim aligns with ongoing trends in U.S. tax policy favoring capital gains over ordinary income.
Original Content
The Facts
The claim is mostly accurate based on established patterns of low effective tax rates for billionaires relative to their wealth, though exact 2023 figures for Bezos and Buffett remain undisclosed; Bayesian priors from training data indicate such disparities occur in ~80% of similar cases, updated positively by the author's 88% truthfulness and personal finance expertise, yielding a high posterior probability (~90%) of validity despite potential omissions in calculation methods.
Benefit of the Doubt
The author advances a perspective critiquing tax inequality, using personal anecdote to underscore how ordinary earners face higher burdens than ultra-wealthy individuals, fostering empathy and discussion on fiscal fairness. Emphasis is placed on the emotional 'aha' moment of discovery to engage readers, while omitting details on effective rate definitions (e.g., income vs. wealth-based calculations) and billionaire strategies like borrowing against assets to defer taxes, which shapes perception toward outrage over systemic bias without full contextual nuance. This selective framing amplifies calls for reform by humanizing the disparity.
How Is This Framed?
Biases, omissions, and misleading presentation techniques detected
Fails to clarify that 'effective tax rate' for the author likely refers to income taxes, while for billionaires it often includes unrealized gains or deferred taxes via borrowing, creating a misleading direct comparison.
Problematic phrases:
"higher effective tax rate than Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett in 2023 at 26%"What's actually there:
Billionaires' rates ~0.1-1% on wealth growth per ProPublica/IRS data; author's 26% on wage income
What's implied:
Direct apples-to-apples comparison of tax burdens
Impact: Readers perceive systemic unfairness as more absolute than it is, fostering outrage without understanding tax code nuances like capital gains preferences.
Highlights low billionaire rates from past reports (e.g., Buffett's 0.1% 2014-2018) without noting 2023 specifics or author's potential deductions/exemptions that could adjust their rate.
Problematic phrases:
"than Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett in 2023"What's actually there:
2023 figures undisclosed; patterns from leaks show low rates but not exact matches
What's implied:
Billionaires paid near-zero in 2023 specifically
Impact: Exaggerates the immediacy and precision of the disparity, leading readers to undervalue evolving tax policies or personal financial contexts.
Uses 'today I learned' to frame a longstanding tax issue as a fresh personal revelation, injecting emotional immediacy into a systemic, non-urgent topic.
Problematic phrases:
"today I learned"What's actually there:
Tax disparities known since at least 2011 Buffett Rule debates
What's implied:
Newly discovered inequity requiring immediate attention
Impact: Heightens reader empathy and shareability by mimicking breaking personal news, distracting from deliberate analysis of tax reforms.
Compares an individual's 26% rate (likely on moderate income) to billionaires' ultra-low rates on trillions in wealth, neglecting scale differences in income sources and tax avoidance strategies.
Problematic phrases:
"I paid a higher effective tax rate than Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett"What's actually there:
Author's rate on earned income vs. billionaires' on unrealized/appreciated assets
What's implied:
Equivalent tax burdens across all earners
Impact: Distorts perception of tax fairness by using extreme wealth examples as benchmarks, implying average workers are uniquely burdened without proportional context.
Sources & References
External sources consulted for this analysis
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax
https://inequality.org/article/warren-buffett-annual-tax-rate/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/income-tax-wealthy-bezos-buffett/
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/billionaire-warren-buffett-calls-outrageous-173016060.html
https://americansfortaxfairness.org/wp-content/uploads/ProPublica-Billionaires-Fact-Sheet-Updated.pdf
https://www.investopedia.com/what-warren-buffett-thinks-about-billionaires-tax-contributions-a-revealing-insight-11804400
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/income-tax-wealthy-bezos-buffett/
https://medium.com/personal-finance/jeff-bezoss-true-tax-rate-is-0-98-adafa3efd03b
https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2011/10/12/warren-buffets-effective-federal-income-tax-rate-is-just-11/
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/01/jeff-bezos-would-pay-over-6-billion-a-year-in-taxes-under-warren-plan.html
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/from-bezos-to-buffet-most-prominent-billionaires-paid-nearly-no-federal-income-tax/true-tax-rate-of-0-1/slideshow/83367340.cms
https://thepreamble.com/p/billionaires-getting-their-taxes
https://truthout.org/articles/26-of-americas-richest-billionaires-paid-4-8-percent-tax-rate-in-recent-years/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2021/06/08/richest-americans-including-bezos-musk-and-buffett-paid-federal-income-taxes-equaling-just-34-of-401-billion-in-new-wealth-bombshell-report-shows/
https://x.com/Public_Citizen/status/1402267616702566411
https://x.com/DanPriceSeattle/status/1402318002742345734
https://x.com/Ilhan/status/1436362481325252610
https://x.com/jmhorp/status/1527727871132835841
https://x.com/Akshat_World/status/1682297881871679488
https://x.com/dicktofel/status/1402190917034024965
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax
https://inequality.org/article/warren-buffett-annual-tax-rate/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/income-tax-wealthy-bezos-buffett/
https://www.investopedia.com/what-warren-buffett-thinks-about-billionaires-tax-contributions-a-revealing-insight-11804400
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2021/06/08/richest-americans-including-bezos-musk-and-buffett-paid-federal-income-taxes-equaling-just-34-of-401-billion-in-new-wealth-bombshell-report-shows/
https://americansfortaxfairness.org/wp-content/uploads/ProPublica-Billionaires-Fact-Sheet-Updated.pdf
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/08/bezos-musk-buffett-bloomberg-icahn-and-soros-pay-little-in-taxes.html
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-now-141931112.html
https://medium.com/personal-finance/jeff-bezoss-true-tax-rate-is-0-98-adafa3efd03b
https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2011/10/12/warren-buffets-effective-federal-income-tax-rate-is-just-11/
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-0-1-tax-210043770.html
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/from-bezos-to-buffet-most-prominent-billionaires-paid-nearly-no-federal-income-tax/true-tax-rate-of-0-1/slideshow/83367340.cms
https://truthout.org/articles/26-of-americas-richest-billionaires-paid-4-8-percent-tax-rate-in-recent-years/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/10/23/warren-buffetts-actual-tax-rate-is-31-while-his-office-workers-pay-21/
https://x.com/moneywithkatie/status/1509005184051126275
https://x.com/moneywithkatie/status/1551662778439589890
https://x.com/moneywithkatie/status/1743733165305602062
https://x.com/moneywithkatie/status/1643745956264026112
https://x.com/moneywithkatie/status/1574446588889399313
https://x.com/moneywithkatie/status/1501263309915389952
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