The American tax system is at the heart of an ongoing debate about fairness, wealth, and opportunity. At its core, the controversy has highlighted a striking imbalance: the richest people in the United States often pay a lower effective tax rate than the average worker.
This isn’t a fluke or a product of illegal behavior; it’s the result of a system that treats different types of income in dramatically different ways. Capital gains, stock appreciation, and inherited wealth are taxed far more leniently than regular wages and salaries, and this creates vast advantages for those who already hold significant assets.
In America, the wealthy have found ever more ways to legally avoid taxes. After all, more than a third of the world’s billionaires reside in the country. But in the end, the system that seemingly favors the rich may spell doom for the entire country as a whole.
Intrigued? Click through this gallery to find out more.