Give them what they voted for – good and hard.
The chief executive of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has taken advantage of popular loopholes in the federal estate and gift taxes, which have quietly been eviscerated.
intercst
6 Likes
People have been looking for and using loopholes for the estate tax for as long as it has existed. That’s because at 40+%, it is worth avoiding if at all possible. If it were lower, say 10% or 15%, fewer people would go through all this effort to avoid it.
1 Like
It should be confiscatory! No passing on of billions of dollars to anyone. Makes for more motivated heirs to actually accomplish something in life. They realize these enormous portfolios because of our civil society, the rule of law, infrastructure and the investment in our culture. Without those benefits they are gang leaders in some third world hole!
JimA
3 Likes
It’s not tax evasion. It’s tax avoidance as clearly stated in the thread’s title:
How One of the World’s Richest Men Is Avoiding $8 Billion in Taxes
NYT
The chief executive of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has taken advantage of popular loopholes in the federal estate and gift taxes, which have quietly been eviscerated.
- Avoiding is legal
- Evading is not.
The Captain
7 Likes
" * Avoiding is legal
- Evading is not.
The Captain"
And do lobbyists that represent the wealthiest Americans have any influence on tax laws ? Perhaps turning evasion into avoidance ?
I mean, we’re talking efficiency here, and that sure is not efficient.
3 Likes
Of course they do, but ‘tax dodge’ as used in the link is an interesting phrase. Most people examine the tax code and minimize their tax burden; I know I do – balance long term/short term gains and losses, find out eligibility for switching to a Roth IRA, etc.
DB2
5 Likes
3 Likes
It is clearly a tax dodge - in much the same way that people previously used sophisticated investments decades ago to create losses and avoid taxes - until those were eventually deemed illegal.
To quote:
His strategies were not explicitly authorized by Congress. Instead, they were cooked up by creative lawyers who have exploited a combination of obscure federal regulations, narrow findings by courts and rulings that the Internal Revenue Service issues in individual cases that then served as models for future tax shelters. As such strategies became widespread, they effectively became the law.
I can’t fault him for it - the fault is with Congress. Doesn’t make what he is doing any less shady though. It will remain legal until a court says otherwise.
The investigation, based on interviews with dozens of former tax officials and details from hundreds of leaked IRS forms, showed a regime of federal rules — some created by the IRS itself — that have enabled secrecy-seeking investors to run circles around the agency, aided by accountants and lawyers who readily help them exploit weak rules and years-long patterns of lax enforcement.
1 Like
Yes, so do I. That’s why I’ve been avoiding wage & salary employment for 30 years. If you’re able to save some money early in your career, it’s not hard to fashion a middle-class lifestyle and completely escape taxation by living off qualified dividends and capital gains. For 2024 a married couple gets about the first $120,000/yr in the 0% bracket, assuming that’s their only income (i,e, no wage & salary income.) A neighbor couple with $120,000/yr in wage & salary would pay over $17,000/yr in Federal income taxes and FICA. You compound and invest that difference in taxation over 30 years and it’s a fortune.
If Jensen Huang can escape taxes on $8 Billion (and I can keep doing what I’m doing), that working couple needs to pay more in taxes, or we need to borrow more and increase the debt.
dividends20 – if you’re currently working, pay attention to this arithmetic.
I won’t “have” to pay any taxes until I start taking Social Security at age 70. I have volunteered to pay some taxes by doing some 6-figure Roth conversions in recent years, but that’s only to lessen my tax burden from age 73 on when I start RMDs from my IRA.
intercst
2 Likes
I agree with DrBob’s reply
The Captain
Most people (like us) don’t have the ability to lobby for (read that as: write) tax laws that we can use to “avoid” taxes. That is the issue here.
3 Likes
As an aside, one thing DOGE absolutely could fix and bring massive savings and value would be our convoluted tax system.
I would fully support DOGE changing our tax laws to make them as simple some European countries.
Hawkwin
Not holding his breath
3 Likes
That is what they are working on: replacing income tax revenue with tariff revenue.
Steve
I don’t see much evidence of that. Not taxing tips or overtime or SS does almost nothing to reduce the complexity of other income. In fact, it likely creates other convoluted behavior by employers to move more income into overtime and tips so that they can avoid paying SS other benefits based on such.
Look at the hidden agenda. SS tax exeption only benefits higher income retirees, not the lower tier Proles. On the last go around TFG rolled out a scheme where “JCs”, under certain circumstances could take a big chunk of the tips the servers earn, and use that to pay back room staff, rather than the “JCs” paying cash out of his own pocket. If the tax exemption for OT pay is enacted, I would not be surprised to see a benefit for the “JC” in the law, so it is more cost effective for the “JC” to work his staff like rented mules 60-80hrs/week, rather than hiring more staff to work 40 hours each.
Steve
“As an aside, one thing DOGE absolutely could fix and bring massive savings and value would be our convoluted tax system.”
Totally agree with that.
DOGE came up in this thread, lauded by some for the miracles they were going to work. OK, go to work, cut the loopholes that allow the ultra wealthy to avoid paying taxes with convoluted rules that 99% or so of the rest of us couldn’t dream of applying to our tax burden. I mean, that would be some major Government Efficiency, right ???
Here is my first tactic to gain Government Efficiency:
No Politicians Golf on the taxpayer dime. This will save beaucoup dollars: No humungous Secret Service Details necessary to patrol a wooded, spread out Golf course. In the same vein, No Secret Service Details are allowed to be housed on any property owned by any Politician, as that is an OBVIOUS Conflict of Interest. What a shining example that would set for the rest of us taxpayers, Politicians not milking the taxpayer cow for their own benefit.
I won’t hold my breath.
4 Likes
US tax avoidance advise for alien, non-resident investors:
Tax structure for alien, non-resident investors in American stock markets:
- Dividends are burdened by a 15% withholding tax
- No capital gains taxes
- Profits from trading stock options are considered capital gains
For alien, non-resident investors looking for income, selling covered calls is the better alternative once you master the art of option trading.
The Captain
1 Like
Surely, with the wealthy running the government, and DOGE, this will be first and foremost on their minds 
In the ZZZ administration, Treasury Secretary YYY, himself a GRAT user, would halt efforts to close the loopholes.
3 Likes