The wealthy avoid taxes through legal strategies like the "Buy, Borrow, Die" method (borrowing against appreciating assets instead of selling), using trusts, charitable donations, and structuring income to favor lower-taxed capital gains over ordinary income, often by holding assets long-term and using deductions, depreciation, and "pass-through" business entities to reduce taxable income. They leverage complex financial tools and expert tax planning to defer or eliminate taxes, especially on inherited wealth.
Wealthy family borrows against its assets' growing value and uses the newly available cash to live off or invest in other assets, like rental properties. The family does NOT owe taxes on its asset-leveraged loans because the government doesn't tax borrowed money.
Indian Example: Prominent business magnates in India often rely on dividends and capital gains from their vast equity holdings. By strategically selling shares during favorable tax conditions, they ensure minimal tax impact. This is a prominent form of ultra-rich tax avoidance.
Maximum marginal rate is the highest rate of tax at any income level. This means for those with incomes between Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore, 39% will be the highest applicable tax rate, and for those with incomes above Rs 5 crore, it will be 42.74% — the highest tax rate since 1992.
We thought Michigan residents might be interesting in learning how Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and several company insiders are using a legal tactic called a “grantor-retained annuity trust” to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in estate and gift taxes on their Facebook shares.
Taking Advantage of Capital Gains, Not Salary
One of the biggest reasons Bezos pays little in personal income tax is that he doesn't rely on a traditional salary. Instead, he holds most of his wealth in Amazon stock.
Googlers call Zuckerberg's approach the 80 percent rule
She calls this idea the 80 percent rule. It states you should schedule only about 80 percent of your days. Leave 20 percent open to absorb whatever craziness comes up.
According to government reports, while over 7 crore people file tax returns, only a fraction of them actually pay taxes because many fall below the taxable income threshold or use deductions to reduce liability.
While middle-income earners are paying more in taxes, corporate profits and personal wealth of the rich continue to benefit from relatively light taxation through lower rates, exemptions and incentives. Over the last decade, India's tax regime has tilted in favour of corporates and indirect taxes.
The wealthy paid lower overall taxes because they were able to shelter more of their business income from taxes, and on the income they did report, tax rates were lower, the authors said.
Claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) under GST**
If your business is registered under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), you can claim Input Tax Credit. This lets you set off the GST you pay on materials and services against the GST you collect when you sell goods or services. This process lowers your total tax cost.
Examples of income that are not taxable in India include agricultural income, gifts and inheritances, interest on EPF and PPF, scholarships and awards, life insurance proceeds, leave encashment, gratuity, Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG), and interest on tax-free bonds.
“Tesla: The company has used mechanisms like deferred tax assets, research and development credits, and massive deductions from Elon Musk's stock-based compensation to reduce its U.S. federal income tax to near zero in profitable years.”
The wealthy are often able to write off such things as lavish meals, as well as the use of their yachts and private planes, helping them essentially pay for these assets the average person can't even dream of owning.
Unemployment compensation generally is taxable. Inheritances, gifts, cash rebates, alimony payments (for divorce decrees finalized after 2018), child support payments, most healthcare benefits, welfare payments, and money that is reimbursed from qualifying adoptions are deemed nontaxable by the IRS.
In India, the 30% income tax rate generally applies to individuals earning above ₹24 Lakhs (under the old regime/default for some) or ₹15 Lakhs (under the new optional regime for FY 2025-26) and to firms (as a flat rate), while certain income types like lottery winnings, online gaming, and virtual digital assets (like crypto) are taxed at a flat 30% for everyone, regardless of total income.
Countries with higher income tax* rates compared to India: Canada - 54% China - 45% UK - 45%
Who was the Highest Individual Taxpayer in India in 2021? In FY22, the highest individual taxpayers were led by Mukesh Ambani, who paid Rs. 2,300 crore in taxes, followed by Ratan Tata with Rs. 2,000 crore.
Mark Zuckerberg famously became the world's youngest self-made billionaire at age 23 in 2008 after Facebook went public, though more recently, in late 2025, a trio of 22-year-olds (Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha) from the AI company Mercor beat his record, becoming the youngest self-made tech billionaires.
Eminem has filed a lawsuit against Meta, which is owned by Mark Zuckerberg, over allegations that the tech company did not get permission to use his music across many of its platforms. Meta operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp.