Bucks Blog: The Tax Code and the Very Rich

Almost anyone who receives a paycheck will pay higher taxes this year. But as Paul Sullivan writes in his Wealth Matters column this week, the very wealthiest Americans — those worth hundreds of millions or more — usually don’t get paychecks. These people, generally partners in private equity firms or hedge fund managers, earn much of their money as a share of their funds’ earnings. And those earnings are taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income.

So while tax economists say the tax code may now be the most progressive in a generation, the richest of the rich often have the most options for deferring taxes or sheltering some of their income.

Have you figured out yet how you will be affected by new tax rules? And what changes would you have made to the tax code?

Article source: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/the-tax-code-and-the-very-rich/?partner=rss&emc=rss