Close the Billionaire Loophole

The Billionaire Loophole is a tax avoidance technique exploited by the super wealthy to avoid paying at least $100 billion in estate and gift taxes. Exploiting the Loophole requires a creative and complicated use of trusts, but the impact is simple: the wealthy avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Congress should close the Billionaire Loophole today

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Background

The estate tax was created to raise revenue from those with the greatest ability to pay, and to encourage charitable giving and to put a brake on the concentration of wealth and power. Loopholes in the federal estate tax have rendered it essentially voluntary. These loopholes are being exploited by billionaires and their estate planners to dodge the tax. Demand Congress close the loopholes and restore fairness to the tax code. The biggest billionaire’s loophole is known as the Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT). These specialized trusts allow families like the Waltons and Sheldon Adelson to pay little if any estate and gift taxes on estates worth billions of dollars. This loophole cost the U.S. Treasury $100 billion since 2000.

Actions

Senator Sanders introduced the Responsible Estate Tax Act that would close the Billionaire Loophole.
Bloomberg editorial has called for the closing of the Billionaire Loophole.
President Obama targeting the closing the Billionaire Loophole is in the 2015 budget.

How you can make a difference:

Contact your representative in Congress to demand action on closing the billionaire loophole

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Updates

Resources

Loophole in the Estate Tax Show. Why revenue must be on the table.
Fixing and expanding the Estate Tax from the Institute for Policy Studies.
Myths and realities of the Estate Tax.
Estate Tax Sheet.

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Wealth For Common Good

For Fair Taxation and Shared Prosperity

Close the Billionaire Loophole

Background

Actions

Updates

Resources