EXCLUSIVE: Propublica’s “Expose” on the Super Rich Failing to Pay Taxes is Based on Fiction

Price and Brill discussed the highly publicized article by Propublica that claims the super-rich pay “zero taxes.”

In this fascinating interview, Alex Brill of AEI (and the former chief economist to the House Ways and Means Committee) revealed that the bulk of the “data” in the Propublica piece is based on a wealth tax.  The trouble is, the United States does not have a wealth tax, the US (with rare exception) only taxes income.  This series by Propublica is deceptive and is a good example of what Mark Twain called “lies, damnable lies, and statistics.”

According to the American Enterprise Institute, “Alex Brill is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies the impact of tax policy on the US economy as well as the fiscal, economic, and political consequences of tax, budget, health care, retirement security, and trade policies. He is the editor of Carbon Tax Policy: A Conservative Dialogue on Pro-Growth Opportunities. Before joining AEI, Brill served as the policy director and chief economist of the House Ways and Means Committee. Previously, he served on the staff of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He has served on the staff of the President’s Fiscal Commission (Simpson-Bowles) and the Republican Platform Committee (2008). He is also the founder and CEO of the economic consulting firm Matrix Global Advisors (MGA). Brill has an MA in mathematical finance from Boston University and a BA in economics from Tufts University.”

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN ITS ENTIRETY HERE