Pandemic boosts super-rich share of global wealth

The share of household wealth owned by billionaires has risen by a record amount during the pandemic, with millionaires also coming out of COVID-19 ahead, a study found on Tuesday. The World Inequality Report produced by a network of social scientists estimated that billionaires this year collectively own 3.5% of global household wealth, up from

Texas has raised $54 million in private donations for its border wall plan. Almost all of it came from this one billionaire.

Timothy Mellon is the Wyoming-based grandson of banking tycoon Andrew Mellon. He is responsible for nearly 98% of the donations to Texas’ border wall fund. An out-of-state billionaire who has previously bankrolled attempts to defend controversial immigration laws is responsible for nearly all the donations to Gov. Greg Abbott’s $54 million border wall fund. A member of one

Ireland set to agree historical minimum corporate tax rate

Ireland is expected to adopt a 15% minimum corporate tax rate after several months of negotiations with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Sources close to Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe say the Irish government “needs certainty around the rate”, and assurances that Ireland won’t be forced to increase it further. Much of

Pandora Papers: Qatar ruling family avoided £18.5m tax on London super-mansion

The Qatar ruling family bought two of the UK’s most expensive houses in a deal that allowed them to avoid £18.5m in stamp duty, leaked documents show. The family bought the properties in central London via offshore companies for over £120m and applied to make them into a 17-bedroom “super-mansion”. There is no suggestion that

The Pandora Papers: How the world of offshore finance is still flourishing | Four Corners

In a major international investigation, Four Corners reveals the secrets of the Pandora Papers. For months, more than 600 journalists from around the world, including the ABC, the Washington Post and the BBC, have been working with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on this top-secret investigation. One of the biggest data leaks in history,

Utilities Took $1.25 Billion in Pandemic Aid Then Shut Off Power to Households Nearly 1 Million Times: Report

“These companies took bailout dollars from taxpayers and turned around to lobby against shutoff moratoria proven to save lives.” Over a dozen leading U.S. utility companies took more than a billion dollars of publicly-funded pandemic bailout money while pulling the plug on power to vulnerable households nearly a million times, according to a new report out

Sen. Ron Johnson, worth millions, paid almost nothing in 2017 state income tax–and won’t explain why

The Wisconsin multimillionaire paid $2,105 in 2017. In previous years, the bill was 30 times that Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., paid next to nothing in 2017 state income taxes compared to previous years, despite reporting an individual income of at least $450,000.  According a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report released Thursday, the Republican lawmaker paid exactly $2,105 in

Let’s talk about the debt ceiling and calling the bluff – Beau of the Fifth Column

Peru PM warns gas sector: pay higher taxes or face nationalization

Peruvian Prime Minister Guido Bellido on Sunday said that companies which exploit natural gas in Peru will need to agree to pay higher taxes or else face nationalizations, a sharp warning to the sector from the new leftist government. Bellido told Reuters in August that the government was planning to participate more deeply in the main industries,

America’s billionaires pay an average income tax rate of just 8.2%, Biden administration says

The wealthiest 400 families in the United States are paying an average income tax rate of just 8.2%, according to a new analysis from the Biden administration. President Joe Biden and Democrats are pushing to raise taxes on the richest Americans as they look for ways to pay for their ambitious agenda, making its way through Congress