Subject: Biden's billionaire tax rate fact checked
...is, as usual, disingenuous.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2...

(Or read it for free here: https://archive.is/tRXQI)

“You know, there are 1,000 billionaires in America. You know what the average federal tax is for these billionaires? They are making great sacrifices: 8.2 percent. That’s far less than the vast majority of Americans’ pay.”

Mr. Biden was referring to a White House study, released in 2021, that used a “more comprehensive measure of income” than is currently assessed. But it is not technically the tax rate paid under existing federal law.

The report in question included gains made in unsold stocks, which are not taxed until the asset is sold. It estimated the average federal income tax rate paid by the 400 wealthiest families in the United States to be 8.2 percent.

Gains in unsold assets. This is how you lie with numbers by claiming your net worth on paper is the equivalent to a stack of gold bars held in a safe. Unrealized income is not actual income.

This is the same thing as going to every homeowner in the country and saying, "The value of the house you bought in 2000 has doubled. Therefore, you owe tax on the 'income' you've received". That's asinine.

Kudos to the NYT for committing a random act of journalism.