Wealthy must pay fair share

Tax day was earlier this week, so I started thinking about how much folks like me are paying, compared with the richest Americans.

I have been working since I was 17 years old. I’m now 25, which means I have been filing taxes for eight years and out of those eight years, three times I did not receive a refund.

As I started working and having to file my taxes every year, I saw why taxes were important — after all, we wouldn’t have any roads if it weren’t for taxes. However, it was scary to hear about the consequences if you made any mistakes on your taxes.

As I started doing more research about taxes, I became extremely upset to find that wealthy companies and individuals don’t pay their fair share. These people have personal accountants who make deductions that the average person wouldn’t have the time or knowledge to take advantage of. There are plenty of loopholes that enable rich people to avoid paying taxes, or pay a lot less than they should.

Zoom paid no taxes on the 4,000% profit it made, for instance. Nevada’s billionaires don’t pay their fair share and it’s time to do something about it. During the pandemic, Nevada’s billionaires saw a 29% increase of their wealth as thousands of Nevadans struggled to pay rent.

It’s time for Congress to make the wealthy pay their fair share and eliminate loopholes that allow industry to dodge taxes.

It’s time for Nevada to lead by example.

Mariela Cortes, Jackpot