How a Decades-Old Loophole Lets Billionaires Avoid Medicare Taxes
www.propublica.org
Some of Wall Street’s richest and most powerful figures are using a legal loophole to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes earmarked for health care, a ProPublica investigation found.

Summary

Billionaire financiers exploit a loophole in the tax code to avoid paying Medicare tax on their business income.

By channeling profits through limited partnerships, they can classify themselves as passive investors, exempting their income from self-employment tax.

The IRS has attempted to crack down on this practice, but interest groups have successfully defended it, portraying any attempt to close the loophole as a tax hike on small businesses.

Closing the loophole could generate $250 billion over 10 years for Medicare.