Professor Ray Madoff on How to Tax the Rich
“Somebody who is self-employed and earned sixty thousand dollars will pay about thirteen thousand dollars in income taxes and payroll taxes.”
Why do billionaires often pay lower tax rates than working Americans? In this episode of the Sunlight Tax Podcast, I sit down with tax policy expert and professor, Ray Madoff, to explore how income, wealth, and inheritance are taxed in the United States, and why the current system often favors the ultra-wealthy.
We discuss wealth inequality, estate taxes, billionaire tax strategies, and the most promising proposals for tax reform. If you've ever wondered how the tax code shapes who builds wealth in America, this conversation offers a clear and accessible look at what a fairer tax system could look like.
“Let’s say that you’re Mark Zuckerberg. What he has is a growth in value of his stock. And even though that growth in value of his stock has made him very, very rich, it is not treated as taxable income.”
Also mentioned in today’s episode:
02:30 Background on Professor Ray Madoff and her work
05:40 How the tax system favors the wealthy
07:19 The impact of growth in stock value and tax treatment
09:02 Living off wealth, not income
10:04 Inheritance, gifts, and the lack of taxation
12:15 The estate tax and loopholes
16:20 Public perception and fairness in the tax system
17:21 How the wealthy avoid taxes: borrowing against assets
23:02 Political feasibility of tax reforms
25:46 Wealth taxes and their challenges
29:56 Legal and constitutional issues with wealth taxes
31:46 Potential benefits of well-designed tax policies
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About Professor Ray D. Madoff:
Ray D. Madoff is a professor at Boston College Law School and the cofounder and director of the Boston College Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good. She is the author of Immortality and the Law: The Rising Power of the American Dead and lead author of The Practical Guide to Estate Planning. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New York Review of Books, among other outlets.
Episode Links:
Professor Ray Madoff’s Book: The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy
My FAQ page on how to Tax the Rich
Get your FREE visual guide to tax deductions
Order my book: Taxes for Humans: Simplify Your Taxes and Change the World When You’re Self-Employed