Only temporary! Deluded Jean-Claude Juncker speaks out after humiliating EU poll
FORMER
Brussels boss Jean-Claude Juncker has claimed discontent in the EU is
temporary after Europeans said the bloc is "broken" and damaged by its
shambolic response to the Covid pandemic.
Jean-Claude Juncker reflects on EU’s Maastricht Treaty
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A
majority say the bloc is diminished as a result of eurocrats bungled
handling of the crisis following the EU’s sluggish vaccine rollout, a
new poll found. Fury is strongest in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and
Austria, where more than half of respondents said the Brussels project
was “broken”. The bombshell revelation was evident during extensive
polling and research by the influential European Council of Foreign
Relations.
French
people emerged as the biggest eurosceptics, with around 62 percent of
those polled describing the EU as “broken” rather than “working well”.
The
results will likely be a cause for concern in Brussels and Paris ahead
of an election showdown between Emmanuel Macron and eurosceptic
right-wing leader Marine Le Pen next April.
In Germany, 55 percent perceived the EU as “kaput” with more than one in five thinking it was “completely broken” – up by 11 percent in the last year.
Around 57 percent of respondents from pandemic-stricken Italy expressed the same view.
Jean-Claude Juncker is the EU Commission's former president (Image: GETTY)
He also claimed it was too easy for national governments to blame Brussels because the EU has no real public health powers.
“But people quickly realised that it would lead to a dead-end if everyone muddled around by themselves,” Mr Juncker said.
Brussels’
failure to outperform the UK and other rivals such as the United States
was seen as an “existential” crisis, according to the ECFR polling
across 12 EU countries.
Susi Dennison and Jana Puglierin, authors
of the report, said: “The onslaught of the pandemic was the EU’s chance
to prove to citizens that it could move quickly and decisively in their
best interests.
Ursula von der Leyen has faced criticism for her sluggish vaccines scheme (Image: EbS)
“The
slow and chaotic start to the vaccine rollout at the beginning of 2021
raised big questions about the EU’s capacity to steer its member states
through the crisis. Disappointment with EU institutions has now come out
of the periphery and gone mainstream.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s bungled vaccine rollout sparked fury across the bloc.
The top eurocrat took personal charge of a Brussels-led initiative to secure enough doses for the EU’s 27 member states.
But
it only left hundreds of millions of Europeans reeling after it emerged
Brexit Britain had used its newly-won freedoms to secure and administer
vaccines much faster than the bloc.
Jean-Claude Juncker says vaccine ‘major success’ for EU
The
ECFR report said: “The fact that two of the EU’s largest and most
influential states — France and Germany — are the least convinced about
the need for European cooperation underlines the urgency with which the
EU needs to up its game.
“Both countries have important national
elections coming up in the next year, which may present a challenge for
the EU’s leaders — with euroscepticism having increased due to EU
institutions’ poor handling of the vaccine rollout.”
In France, just 38 percent of people polled thought EU membership was still a good thing.
Despite majorities in all other countries, the ECFR suggested the EU is “extremely fragile”.
Its
experts said: “If the EU fails to build up its resilience to the new
sorts of crises our interconnected world faces today, our data indicates
that the EU itself may risk becoming another casualty of COVID-19.”
As a result of Brexit, the prevailing view across the countries surveyed is that Britain is now seen as a “necessary partner”.
One
in four Germans and around one in five Austrians, French and Spanish
respondents now view the UK as a “rival” or “adversary” after Britain's
EU split.
Pound fluctuates against Euro in latest chart index
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A recent poll issued by Europe Elects revealed 76 percent of Swedish citizens surveyed are adamantly against joining the eurozone. The poll saw 9216 respondents between April 28 and May 27 asked: "Should the Euro replace the Swedish Krona as national currency?".
Only 24 percent of the respondents said yes, while 16.5 percent were undecided.
Sweden
has been a member of the European Union since 1995. Its accession to
the bloc under the Treaty of Maastricht puts the country on an
obligation to join the eurozone.
But the Swedish seem to have no plans to replace the krona in the near future.
The country is also yet to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II), claiming it is voluntary.
The ECB is all but certain
to maintain a generous flow of stimulus when policymakers meet today,
fearing that higher borrowing costs could smother a still-nascent
recovery.
Recent comments from ECB President Christine Lagarde and
board member Fabio Panetta suggest the June discussion effectively
ended even before today's meeting, with a cut in bond purchases
unlikely, even if policymakers acknowledge an improvement in growth
prospects and the rapid pace of vaccinations.
Panetta flatly
rejected any reduction in emergency bond buys while Lagarde said it was
"far too early" to discuss tapering the bank's 1.85 trillion euro
Pandemic Emergency Purchases Programme (PEPP).
While policymakers
could still opt for a different course, they usually line up behind
their president and rarely make changes to proposals brought to the
table by the six-member Executive Board.
Supremazia del diritto europeo, è di nuovo scontro Bruxelles-Varsavia
Il
premier polacco ha chiesto alla Corte costituzionale di pronunciarsi
sul ruolo della Costituzione nazionale rispetto ai Trattati europei. La
Ue: «Di fatto contesta il primato del diritto comunitario»
dal corrispondente Beda Romano
Il premier polacco, Mateusz Morawiecki
2' di lettura
BRUXELLES – La questione dello stato di diritto nei Paesi dell’Est Europa continua a
creare tensioni. La Commissione europea ha inviato una lettera al
governo polacco, rimproverandolo di mettere in dubbio un principio
cardine dell’Unione Europea: la supremazia del diritto comunitario
rispetto al diritto nazionale.
L’iniziativa è giunta
dopo che il premier Andrei Morawiecki ha chiesto alla Corte
costituzionale di pronunciarsi sul ruolo della Costituzione nazionale
rispetto ai Trattati europei.«La Commissione è preoccupata per questa
mozione in quanto nei fatti contesta (…) il primato del diritto
comunitario», ha detto il portavoce della Commissione Christian Wigand
in un punto stampa.
La presa di posizione giunge dopo
che l’esecutivo comunitario ha aperto una procedura di infrazione
contro la Germania per via di una sentenza in cui la Corte
costituzionale tedesca contestava una precedente decisione della Corte
europea di Giustizia (si veda Il Sole/24 Ore del 10 giugno).Sempre
ieri il Parlamento europeo ha approvato una risoluzione in cui ha
esortato la Commissione ad applicare il regolamento che condiziona
l’esborso di fondi europei al rispetto dello stato di diritto.
Strasburgo
ha minacciato di fare ricorso contro l’esecutivo comunitario dinanzi
alla Corte europea di Giustizia. Dietro al confronto si nascondono
incomprensioni istituzionali, per via anche dell’opposizione di alcuni
Paesi – Polonia,Ungheria e Repubblica Ceca in testa – al regolamento.
Alcuni governi hanno fatto ricorso contro il testo legislativo.
In
attesa della sentenza, i Ventisette hanno deciso in dicembre di
congelare l’applicazione del regolamento. Molti partiti rappresentati in
Parlamento hanno criticato questa scelta, decidendo di mettere sotto
pressione la Commissione (e nel contempo condannare il conflitto
d’interesse del premier ceco Andrej Babis). Bruxelles ha preannunciato
che la settimana prossima presenterà una bozza di linee-guida con cui
applicare il regolamento.
I WANT to
round off my discussion of the PCR test controversy with a quick scan of
the most recent developments and reports on the issue. Among these
developments are:
1. A historic ruling by an appeals court in Lisbon, Portugal that declared PCR tests to be unreliable and lockdowns unlawful.
2. A comprehensive article on the PCR test controversy by a medical doctor: “The PCR test saga: Were we duped?”
3. A finding by US scientists that coronavirus cases plummet when PCR
tests are adjusted to rule out people who have insignificant amounts of
the virus in their system.
All told, these developments should collectively end the PCR test
controversy. It’s a question, however, whether the Senate and our
executive officials have the stamina and rigor to dig for the truth
behind PCR testing.
Portuguese ruling on PCR test
Journalist and author Jon Rappoport was the first to report on the historic Portuguese court ruling. He wrote on his blog:
“On
November 11, 2020 — and ignored completely by major media in the US and
other countries -- the Lisbon, Portugal, Court of Appeals ruled against
lockdowns, because they were based on unreliable PCR tests.
“The ruling was historic.
“The Off-Guardian covered the story:
‘Portuguese court rules PCR tests ‘unreliable’ and quarantines
‘unlawful’; important legal decision faces total media blackout in
Western world.’
“‘Most importantly, the judges ruled that a single positive PCR test cannot be used as an effective diagnosis of infection.’
“‘The ruling goes on
to conclude that, based on the science they read, any PCR test using
over 25 cycles is totally unreliable. Governments and private labs have
been very tight-lipped about the exact number of cycles they run when
PCR testing, but it is known to sometimes be as high as 45. Even
fearmonger-in-chief Anthony Fauci has publicly stated anything over 35
is totally unusable.’
“The court was declaring the PCR test alone
could not be sufficient for a diagnosis of disease, and it was
outrageous to believe it could.
“A ‘case of Covid disease’ without
a medical assessment of clinical symptoms in the patient is no case at
all. It is a misnomer, and, the Court stated, represents a serious
breach of the law.”
True cause of pandemic
Dr.
Joseph Mercola wrote the article, “The PCR testing saga: Were we
duped?” posted on the Defender website on Feb. 23, 2021. Here are key
excerpts from his article:
“For several months, experts have
highlighted the true cause behind the Covid-19 pandemic, namely the
incorrect use of PCR tests set at a ridiculously high cycle count (CT),
which falsely labels healthy people as ‘Covid-19 cases.’ In reality, the
PCR test is not a proper diagnostic test, although it has been promoted
as such.
“An important question that demands an answer is whether
the experts at our federal health agencies and the World Health
Organization were really too ignorant to understand the implications of
using this test at excessive CT, or whether it was done on purpose to
create the illusion of a dangerous, out-of-control pandemic.
“Regardless,
those in charge need to be held accountable, which is precisely what
the German corona extra-parliamentary inquiry committee
(Außerparlamentarischer corona untersuchungsausschuss, or ACU), intends
to do.
“They’re in the process of launching an international
class-action lawsuit against those responsible for using fraudulent
testing to engineer the appearance of a dangerous pandemic in order to
implement economically devastating lockdowns around the world….
“The
whole premise of PCR testing to diagnose Covid-19 is in serious
question, as the practice appears to be based on an erroneous paper that
didn’t even undergo peer-review before being implemented worldwide.
“On
Nov. 30, 2020, a team of 22 international scientists published a review
challenging the scientific paper on PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 written
by Christian Drosten, PhD, and Victor Corman (the so-called
Corman-Drosten paper).
“According to Reiner Fuellmich, founding
member of the German corona extra-parliamentary inquiry committee
mentioned at the beginning of this article, Drosten is a key culprit in
the Covid-19 pandemic hoax.
“The scientists demanded the
Corman-Drosten paper be retracted due to ‘fatal errors,’ one of which is
the fact that it was written, and the test itself developed, before any
viral isolate was available.
“The critique against PCR testing is
further strengthened by the Nov. 20, 2020, study in Nature
Communications, which found no viable virus in any PCR-positive cases.
“But
that’s not all. After evaluating PCR testing data from 9,899,828
people, and conducting additional live cultures to check for active
infections in those who tested positive, using a CT of 37 or lower, they
were unable to detect live virus in any of them, which is a rather
astonishing finding.
“On the whole, it seems clear that mass
testing using PCR is inappropriate, and does very little if anything to
keep the population safe. Its primary result is simply the perpetuation
of the false idea that healthy, noninfectious people can pose a mortal
threat to others, and that we must avoid social interactions. It’s a
delusional idea that is wreaking havoc on the global psyche, and it’s
time to put an end to this unhealthy, unscientific way of life.”
Covid cases plummet with PCR tests adjusted
In
an article in Medicine and Public Health, Ms. Barbara Caceres reported:
“Health experts now say that PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus
associated with the illness Covid-19, is too sensitive and needs to be
adjusted to rule out people who have insignificant amounts of the virus
in their system. The test’s threshold is so high that it detects people
with the live virus as well as those with a few genetic fragments left
over from a past infection that no longer poses a risk. It’s like
finding a hair in a room after a person left it, says Michael Mina, MD,
an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
“In
three sets of testing data that include cycle thresholds compiled by
officials in Massachusetts, New York and Nevada, up to 90 percent of
people testing positive carried barely any virus, a review by The New
York Times found.
“The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
officials state they do not specify the cycle threshold ranges used to
determine who is positive, and that commercial manufacturers and
laboratories set their own threshold ranges.
“The number of people
with positive results who aren’t infectious is particularly concerning,
said Scott Becker, executive director of the Association of Public
Health Laboratories. ‘That worries me a lot, just because it’s so high,’
he said.
“A positive PCR test does not tell doctors whether the
person is currently ill or will become ill in the future, whether they
are infectious or will become infectious, whether they are recovered or
recovering from Covid, or whether the PCR test identified a viral
fragment from another coronavirus infection in the past. The CDC reports
that a person who has recovered from Covid-19 may have low levels of
virus in their bodies for up to three months after diagnosis and may
test positive, even though they are not spreading Covid-19.”
There is talk of an alternative virus test that could replace the PCR test. But that’s another story to dig out.
Der Rechtsanwalt und Achgut.com Autor Joachim Steinhöfel schrieb im März: „Richten
Sie sich bitte, je näher die Bundestagswahl 2021 rückt, auf weitere,
lange geplante und heimtückische Angriffe auf die Meinungsfreiheit ein." Als wären wir durch die Corona-Krise nicht genügend Grundrechtseingriffen ausgesetzt, „schärfen die sozialen Medien nach“.
Steinhöfel seinerzeit: „Bei YouTube greift die Löschung von Videos
und Kanälen um sich, wenn das zentrale Thema unserer Tage,
die Covid-19-Krise, thematisiert wird. Zur Rechtfertigung beruft man
sich auf die „Richtlinie zu medizinischen Fehlinformationen über COVID-19“. Kurz
gefasst heißt es dort: Wir löschen, was gegen die Position der
Weltgesundheitsbehörde verstößt. Wie bitte? Darf auf YouTube nichts mehr
laufen, was von amtlichen Positionen abweicht? Das erinnert an
chinesische Verhältnisse.
Passend dazu erlebt Achgut.com, das dieser Tage das neue Buch unseres
Autoren Gunter Frank „Der Staatsvirus“ vorgestellt hat, eine
Zensurwelle. Ein Werbeclip für das neue Buch von Dr. Gunter Frank, „Der
Staatsvirus“ wurde von YouTube vor der Veröffentlichung
gelöscht. Grund: Dr. Frank hat aus offiziellen Zahlen der WHO logische
Schlussfolgerungen gezogen, die nach dem YouTube-Corona-Reglement
verboten sind. Als Achgut.com mit dem Clip auf Dailymotion
ausgewichen ist, wurde nach kurzer Zeit gleich der ganze Kanal
geschlossen. Deshalb sehen Sie diese Durchsicht auf einem neuen Kanal,
denn da wir uns mit der beschriebenen YouTube-Zensur beschäftigen, droht
nicht nur die nächste Löschung, sondern auch die Sperrung des Kanals
für eine Woche.
Dieses absurde Theater um die aktuellen Zensur-Spielarten führt zu
einer Frage, die Gunter Frank neben den vielen medizinischen Themen in
seinem Buch auch behandelt: Wie konnte es soweit kommen, dass der Umgang
mit dem Corona-Virus nicht mehr im Geiste der Aufklärung offen
diskutiert wird, sondern sich rasend schnell zu einer autoritären
politischen Glaubenslehre entwickelt hat, deren Träger die Jagd auf
Abweichler wichtiger ist als die Behandlung und der Schutz vor einer
Krankheit.
P.S.: Wenn Sie den Zensoren eins auswischen wollen, dann tun Sie doch das, was die Gesinnungswächter verhindern wollen: Kaufen Sie das Buch „Der Staatsvirus“ und verbreiten Sie es.
Doubts over the EU’s insistence that the Digital Covid Certificate will protect everyone’s rights over their data
Activists in Cyprus are joining an EU-wide effort lobbying MEPs to
vote against a regulation introducing the bloc’s proposal for a Digital
Covid Certificate (DGC), coming up for a second reading in the European
Parliament starting tomorrow.
Despite denials by the European Commission that the DGC, better known
as a green pass, amounts to a ‘vaccine passport’, many feel that it
does, and as such constitutes a form of coercion.
By an overwhelming majority, MEPs voted on the European Parliament’s
position on April 29 and swiftly started negotiations with the European
Council on May 3. An informal agreement was reached on May 20. The
Parliament as a whole and the member states now need to formally approve
the regulation for it to come into use as of July 1.
For activists wary of these plans, it’s a race against time as the
proposed regulation has already cleared the first hurdle in the European
Parliament.
The Sunday Mail spoke to two such local campaigners. On June 1, Linda
Leblanc – a councilwoman in Peyia – sent on behalf of the World Freedom
Alliance (WFA) a second ‘Notice of Liability’ to President Nicos
Anastasiades and Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou. The notices were
received.
European
Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders speaks after the provisional
political agreement on the EU Digital Covid Certificate at the European
Commission on May 21
The WFA is a worldwide platform which according to its website aims
to “promote Freedom in all its forms Worldwide and to unite people
around the world, and to provide information and share best practice
between countries”.
The notice of liability, signed by Leblanc herself, advises the president and the health minister that:
“This legal and lawful notice of liability is designed to be used as
evidence in court if needed and intends to enlighten you and protect you
from attracting civil and criminal liability in relation to your action
and all omissions in relation to the alleged Sars-CoV2 (alleged)
pandemic and the measures that have/are being taken worldwide to
allegedly control its spread and effect:”
It demands from the subpoenees that they must provide evidence which
includes: Sars-CoV2 has been successfully isolated; vaccines have been
thoroughly tested, to ensure safety to all recipients; vaccines protect
from Sars-CoV2 infection, and vaccinations are not causing more harm
than good.
Effectively, it puts the government on notice to immediately withdraw
“all Sars-CoV2 injections/vaccines…and all Sars-CoV2
injection/vaccination programmes are immediately terminated, that no
future Sars-CoV2 or other such sinister vaccination programmes will be
entertained or created by the government of the Republic of Cyprus.”
Should the president and health minister comply, “we will immediately
withdraw from, terminate and not pursue, any litigation against you.”
Unless the subpoenees respond in two weeks, the WFA reserves the right to initiate litigation.
It’s understood that the WFA liaise with Reiner Fuellmich, a German
jurist who co-launched the ‘German Corona Extra-Parliamentary Inquiry
Committee’.
A government Covid watchdog of sorts (https://acu2020.org/), the
committee has to date summoned several expert witnesses, including
scientists, to testify on the record. Their Youtube channel is called
‘2020news.’
But the WFA is just one of the tracks Leblanc is working on.
Another is the EU Citizen’s Initiative, using the new system of the
EU Commission. A petition has been accepted and published, and aims to
bring to the attention of the EU Parliament the infringements of
fundamental rights and freedoms during the corona crisis.
The petition asks the EU Parliament to immediately organise a
“Parliamentary investigation commission that should rely on an
independent committee of international experts to look into the
scientific basis for decisions by authorities (testing, treatment,
vaccination, reliability of figures of ‘infected’ and covid-related
deaths, use of masks, closing of school and religious institutions,
lockdowns etc), as well as into the decision-making process.”
Leblanc drafted and filed the petition specifically for Cyprus.
Fuellmich’s Germany-based organisation also cooperate with the EU
Citizen’s Initiative.
But at this time, Leblanc’s thrust centres on the EU’s DGC.
“The speed at which this is being bulldozed through is staggering,” she tells the Sunday Mail.
“We’re currently sending out emails to MEPs sitting on the relevant
[European Parliament] committees. I think that many of them either lack
the expertise or the time to understand the implications of this
proposal.”
Other than the obvious issue of personal and medical sovereignty, the
DGC raises a host of other questions, including the holding and storing
of personal data.
“This vaccination pass or app, whatever you want to call it, will
store on it medical data concerning Covid. But what we don’t know is
what else might be loaded onto it in the future. Will they outsource the
data? And to whom?”
These concerns are not unfounded, as a European Parliament Q&A on
the DGC states verbatim: “There will be no central EU database
containing medical data.”
It goes on to reassure: “Everyone’s rights over their data will be
protected in line with the EU’s strict General Data Protection
Regulation.”
On the Cypriot SafePass, needed for access to indoor areas –
restaurants, bars, cafes, malls, gyms – Leblanc believes the concept
itself originates with the European Commission.
“Meantime we have the Trojan horses, if you will, in Europe who have
already passed something akin to the Cypriot SafePass – Italy and
Ireland.”
The status of Covid passes among EU member states can be found on the
platform for EU Interparliamentary Exchange here:
https://secure.ipex.eu/IPEXL-WEB/dossier/document/COM20210140.do
Earlier the Sunday Mail had reached out to the European Commission to
get a sense of the overlap between any internal Covid passes and the
EU’s DGC – the latter supposed to be about overseas travel.
We asked specifically: “What is the EU Commission’s stance in the
scenario where a government of an EU member state uses the EU’s Covid-19
certificate to require entry at points of service domestically (bars,
restaurants, cafes etc)?”
The response, from a spokesperson for the Commission’s Directorate for Justice and Consumer Rights, proved somewhat evasive:
“The Digital Green Certificate is not a pre-condition to travel, like
a passport. It is aimed to facilitate travel through bringing a
coordinated approach on different documents and certificates offered by
different member states.
It went on: “Member states may decide on different usages nationally.
However, in doing so, they may not discriminate other EU nationals on
grounds of nationality. Therefore, if the certificate can be used for
such purposes, it should be the same for all Europeans living or
travelling to that member state. In case member states have their own
national system in place for such purposes, we would expect that
all EU nationals would have access to this system without
discrimination.”
Coming back to Leblanc, she emphasises what drives her and other activists:
“I really dislike this ‘anti-vaxxer’ slur bandied about. I am pro
safe vaccines. And I’m against the arbitrary taking away of our
freedoms. What I am, in a nutshell, is pro medical sovereignty and
informed consent.”
Asked whether she’d hold the same position were Covid vaccines shown as absolutely safe and effective, she said she would.
“Yes, because it boils down to medical sovereignty. It’s up to the
individual to decide for themselves, not the collective. I hear the
argument that one is not responsible only for one’s self, but for the
collective as well when it comes to Covid. But what confidence can one
have in the collective, and who sets the consensus?”
Pauline Gallagher also lives in Peyia, a resident of Cyprus for 15 years.
On May 10, she grabbed her camera and made her first Youtube video,
titled ‘Stand against restriction of movement for non-vaccinated C-19
citizens of Cyprus.’
“It was on the back of the health minister here announcing a
SafePass. That was the final straw for me, and I felt I had to speak
out,” she said.
A British national, Gallagher stresses, too, that she’s not against vaccines.
“I simply don’t want to take something by coercion. Just as I respect
someone’s choice to get the jab, I want my choice not to take it
likewise respected.”
She’s been emailing and lobbying MEPs – including the Cypriot MEPs –
ahead of the second reading of the GDC in the European Parliament.
In addition, she has written to a number of ministers on the Cyprus
cabinet conveying her concerns. The response – deafening silence.
Gallagher has heard some disturbing anecdotes from the Paphos area.
She says a friend of hers recently got rejected for a job opening
because she was not vaccinated for Covid.
Another acquaintance of hers, a shopkeeper in Paphos, told her that
someone went around putting up stickers on stores saying that the owners
have not got the jab.
“It’s like there’s little vendettas going on, drawing on this Covid
business. Someone else I know told me point-blank that they’re privately
against the coerced vaccination drive but ‘keep their heads down’
because they don’t want any trouble.”
The WFA has a petition here: https://worldfreedomalliance.org/campaigns/european-spring/#sign
IRS Leak Reveals Billionaires Bezos, Buffett, Musk, Soros Paid No Income Tax in Some Years: Report
According
to ProPublica the 25 richest Americans "saw their worth rise a
collective $401 billion from 2014 to 2018" but they paid a total of just
$13.6 billion during this time.
Scientists successfully give InSight Mars lander Power Boost to continue mission in Aphelion
Several
of the richest Americans including Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffet, Michael
Bloomberg and Elon Musk, paid very little, and sometimes nothing, in
income taxes for years, according to a report on Tuesday. The
confidential Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records from the wealthiest
people in the United States were obtained by New York-based journalism
nonprofit ProPublica and published on Tuesday that made the revelations.
The
revelations come just at a time when Washington is weighing new
proposals to address tax avoidance by the wealthiest individuals and
companies. The IRS is now investigating how the confidential tax return
data got leaked that divulged how billionaires have evaded income tax
for years.
Making Billions
Jeff Bezos
Citing the confidential IRS data, ProPublica reported that
the 25 richest Americans "saw their worth rise a collective $401 billion
from 2014 to 2018." However, when it came to paying income tax, these
people paid a total of just $13.6 billion over those five years, which
"amounts to a true tax rate of only 3.4%," the article noted.
The
report also shows that Amazon Chairman Jeff Bezos paid no income tax in
2007 and 2011, while Tesla chief Elon Musk avoided all payments in 2018.
Also, investor George Soros didn't pay federal income tax for three
consecutive years — between 2016 and 2018, according to the records.
Investor
Carl Icahn evaded federal income tax in 2016 and 2017. Warren Buffett,
the CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, has avoided paying income
tax the most in recent years, according to the report.
While
reviewing the tax paid by these billionaires, ProPublica calculated what
it called a 'true tax rate' for the billionaires by comparing how much
tax they paid annually from 2014 to 2018 to how much Forbes estimated
their wealth had grown in that same period.
Warren BuffettReuters
Buffet's wealth grew by around $24.3 billion between 2014
and 2018 but he paid a meager $23.7 million in taxes. Records showed a
so-called true tax rate of 0.1 percent, which equates to less than 10
cents for every $100 Buffet added to his wealth in that period.
On
the other hand, Bezos' wealth grew by almost $99 billion between 2014
and 2018, while his total reported income was $4.22 billion during that
period. However, he paid $973 million in tax, which equates to a 0.98
percent true tax rate.
It's not only about paying less income tax
but also there were years when many of these wealthy Americans
completely evaded tax. In 2007 when Bezos paid no income tax, the Amazon
founder - in a joint tax return with then-wife MacKenzie Bezos -
reported $46 million in income, which was mostly from interest and
dividend payments from investments.
Paying Less than Average Americans
The
report found that, overall the richest 25 Americans pay less in tax
than the average worker does. The median US household in recent years
earned around $70,000 annually and paid 14% in federal taxes. Couples in
the highest income tax rate bracket paid a rate of 37% on earnings
higher than $628,300, the report said.
Elon MuskInstagram/ elonmusk
Much like Buffet, Bezos and others, Musk's wealth also
swelled to an estimated $13.9 billion between 2014 and 2018. However, he
reported $1.52 billion in total income and paid $455 million in taxes.
It equates to a 3.27 percent true tax rate.
Moreover, he didn't pay federal income tax in 2018. The records show he paid only $68,000 in 2015 and $65,000 in 2017.
ProPublica
in its report mentioned that billionaires, unlike most other people
whose earnings come from conventional wage income, often benefit from
"tax-avoidance strategies beyond the reach of ordinary people."
When
ProPublica reached out to Icahn, he told that his adjusted gross income
is misleading because his interest on his loans is higher. "I didn't
make money because, unfortunately for me, my interest was higher than my
whole adjusted income," he said.
George SorosTwitter
In fact, he hit back at questions over whether he thought it
was inappropriate he hadn't paid federal income tax some years.
"There's a reason it's called income tax," he said. "The reason is if,
if you're a poor person, a rich person, if you are Apple - if you have
no income, you don't pay taxes. Do you think a rich person should pay
taxes no matter what? I don't think it's germane. How can you ask me
that question?"
IRS Opens Investigation
The
report comes just days after G7 finance ministers endorsed a global
minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent, one of several tax
proposals aimed at ensuring profitable multinationals pay their fair
share.
Other efforts include Democratic Senator
Elizabeth Warren's initiative to tax the super-wealthy, including the
value of their stock holdings and homes, rather than focusing on income
alone.
TaxationWikimedia Commons
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki on Tuesday was asked about
the leak of tax information to Pro Publica. "Any unauthorized
disclosure of confidential government information by a person with access is illegal, and we take this very seriously," she told reporters at a news conference.
IRS
Commissioner Charles Rettig revealed during a scheduled Senate Finance
Committee hearing just hours later that authorities are investigating
the leak of the tax data. "We have turned it over to the appropriate
investigators, both external and internal," Rettig said.
The Treasury Department also confirmed that multiple agencies were investigating the leak, including the FBI, DC's US Attorney's Office and the Treasury's Office of the Inspector General.
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