· Pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud earlier this year.
· A court ordered him to forfeit $7.36 million in assets as part of his punishment.
· The assets include a Wu-Tang Clan album and Picasso painting.
· The IRS and state of New York are currently fighting over who gets the assets first.
· Shkreli owes both IRS and NY State, having failed to pay his taxes in full.
· Shkreli owes the IRS $1,695,397 after he "failed, neglected, or refused to pay in full the liability for the income tax year 2015," according to court papers cited by the New York Post.
But I thought rich people paid no income tax?
The claim that “rich people pay no income tax” is the lie that gets people in trouble. You hear this propagated by politicians who want to buy your vote. Supposedly the entitlements they offer in exchange for votes will be paid from the pockets of the so called “rich.” But to the public’s dismay, this actually means raising taxes on everyone. Yet the lie works election after election due to the envy and resentment that politicians stir up against the wealthy. The truth is, however (as the above example shows), not only do rich people pay taxes, but when the IRS thinks you owe money, they will do everything in their power to get it. And because people keep voting for Democrats and faux-conservative Republicans, there will never be a true reduction in the size and scope of the federal tax code.