At least 18 billionaires got federal stimulus checks, report says

 

 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stimulus-check-18-billionaires-relief-payments/

 

 By Aimee Picchi
November 5, 2021 / 7:53 AM / MoneyWatch 

At least 18 billionaires — and hundreds of other ultra-wealthy individuals — received federal stimulus checks even though the payments were aimed at helping poor and middle-income households weather the pandemic's economic crisis, according to a new report from ProPublica.

About 270 wealthy people received payments in the first round of stimulus checks directed by lawmakers in 2020, despite having a total of $5.7 billion in income, according to the the report, which cited a trove of IRS data on thousands of the nation's wealthiest individuals ProPublica said it had obtained.

These rich taxpayers received stimulus checks after tapping complex tax deductions to reduce their net incomes to less than zero, qualifying them for the checks, the report noted. Under the law, the full payments of $1,200 per single taxpayer and $2,400 for married couples were only available to single people earning less than $75,000 or couples with incomes below $150,000.

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A representative for Soros said he received a check from the U.S. government as part of the CARES Act. "He did not request the funds or take any other action to obtain them. He promptly returned the check," the representative said in an email to CBS MoneyWatch.

To be sure, the bulk of stimulus payments were directed to households that legitimately qualified for the checks, but the fact that billionaires received the aid underscores how differently the U.S. tax system works for the ultra-rich. The 270 wealthy people who got the checks most certainly didn't request the payments — the IRS automatically directed the aid to anyone it determined qualified by income.

It may seem mind-boggling that a billionaire could qualify for a $1,200 check from a stimulus program with an income threshold of $75,000 per single taxpayer. But because these billionaires tapped write-offs, deductions and other loopholes to minimize their incomes, they appeared to the IRS to have net incomes of less than zero, making them eligible for the payments.

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