--- title: "IRS Leak Shows Elon Musk Paid $0 in Federal Income Tax in 2018" description: "According to IRS data obtained by ProPublica, some of the wealthiest people in the world paid extremely little in federal income taxes over the years." date: "2021-06-08" modified: "2021-06-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/irs-leak-elon-musk" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "jeff bezos" - "tax evasion" --- # IRS Leak Shows Elon Musk Paid $0 in Federal Income Tax in 2018 ![According to IRS data obtained by ProPublica, some of the wealthiest people in the world paid extremely little in federal income taxes over the years.]() *\Image: Futurism\* According to Internal Revenue Service data [obtained by *ProPublica*](), some of the wealthiest people in the world have paid extremely little in federal income taxes in recent years. In fact, several billionaires managed to whittle down their federal income tax return to zero dollars. Tesla CEO Elon Musk managed to do so in 2018. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, now the world's richest man, paid zero dollars in federal income taxes in 2007 and 2011. The report underlines that some of the wealthiest people in the US contribute little to nothing in tax revenue, while those who barely get by have to pick up the tab. In fact, according to *ProPublica*'s estimations, the 25 wealthiest people in the US saw their worth rise $401 billion from 2014 to 2018, paying just $13.6 billion in federal income taxes — and at a measly rate of just 3.4 percent. Despite publicly advocating for higher taxes for the rich, even Warren Buffet paid only $23.7 million in taxes despite his worth rising $24.3 billion over the same period. The effect is that some of the world's wealthiest people appear quite cheap. In 2011, for instance, Bezos went as far as reporting that he lost money, by arguing his investment losses outweighed his income. Bezos even claimed and received a $4,000 tax credit for his children that year. The trend is likely to continue, as lawmakers have struggled to pass tax increases for the wealthy. Not even small incremental changes stand a chance of being passed by Congress. The Biden administration recently proposed raising the top tax rate from 37 to 39.6 percent for the next fiscal year. Biden also [unveiled $3.6 trillion in tax increases]() on wealthy Americans and big corporations earlier this month. Republicans have already denounced the plans and the plans will likely not be enacted, as [*The New York Times* reports](). But even those changes would be unlikely to close the loopholes billionaires are exploiting to pay close to zero — or zero — dollars in taxes every year. **READ MORE:** [Elon Musk Paid $0 in Federal Income Tax in 2018: Report]() \[*Gizmodo*\] **More on Musk:** *[Elon Musk Mocks “Anonymous” For Threatening Him]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()