US collects USD1.3B from wealthy taxpayers since late 2023
(MENAFN) The U.S. government announced it has collected USD1.3 billion from wealthy taxpayers since late 2023 as part of an initiative to ensure that high-income individuals fulfill their tax obligations. This initiative comes in response to a significant drop in audit rates for millionaires, which declined by 80 percent between 2010 and 2018, according to a statement from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. She highlighted this shift as part of her prepared remarks for a speech in Texas.
Yellen pointed out that during the previous administration, audits of high-income taxpayers decreased, while audits of those earning less than USD200,000 increased. This change occurred during former President Donald Trump's administration. With the upcoming November presidential election, tax policy has gained prominence, with both Democratic Candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Trump presenting proposals aimed at easing financial burdens for taxpayers.
Yellen emphasized that unpaid taxes from the wealthiest Americans are a major concern. In her speech, she noted that in 2019, it was estimated that the top 1 percent of earners owed more than a fifth of unpaid taxes, shifting the tax burden onto average citizens. This highlights the importance of efforts to collect unpaid tax debts from the wealthy.
Since late 2023, the Treasury Department has seen substantial success in its efforts to target the highest earners who have not paid their tax debts, recovering over USD1.1 billion from 1,600 millionaires, with about 80 percent having made payments. A separate initiative launched in early 2024 to collect back taxes from high-income individuals who had not filed since 2017 has brought in an additional USD172 million.
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