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Writers

Paul Kiel

The Secret IRS Files

How billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Warren Buffett pay so little in income tax compared to their massive wealth—sometimes, even nothing.

Jesse Eisinger, Jeff Ernsthausen, Paul Kiel ProPublica Jun 2021 30min Permalink

Business Politics

The IRS Tried to Take on the Ultrawealthy. It Didn’t Go Well.

Ten years ago, the tax agency formed a special team to unravel the complex tax-lowering strategies of the nation’s wealthiest people. It never had a chance.

Jesse Eisinger, Paul Kiel ProPublica Apr 2019 20min Permalink

Business

Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free

From the beginning, Intuit recognized that its success depended on two parallel missions: stoking innovation in Silicon Valley while stifling it in Washington. Indeed, employees ruefully joke that the company’s motto should actually be “compromise without integrity.”

Justin Elliott, Paul Kiel ProPublica Oct 2019 30min Permalink

Politics

How the IRS Was Gutted

An eight-year campaign to slash the agency’s budget has left it understaffed, hamstrung and operating with archaic equipment. The result: billions less to fund the government. That’s good news for corporations and the wealthy.

Paul Kiel, Jesse Eisinger ProPublica Dec 2018 25min Permalink

Business

How the Bankruptcy System Is Failing Black Americans

Black people struggling with debts are far less likely than their white peers to gain lasting relief from bankruptcy. A style of bankruptcy practiced by lawyers in the South is primarily to blame.

Paul Kiel, Hannah Fresques ProPublica Sep 2017 25min Permalink

Business

The Color of Debt

Racial discrimination and the collection of small consumer debts.

Paul Kiel, Annie Waldman ProPublica Oct 2015 25min Permalink