Lifetime Tax Rates at the Top

Annual tax snapshots can mislead for billionaires because wealth and realized income are volatile and giving is concentrated in end‑of‑life bequests. Using adjusted methods and longer windows, top‑400 effective rates rise notably, and adding charitable bequests implies lifetime tax‑and‑giving burdens could exceed 75%. This reframes progressivity claims by emphasizing measurement window and definitions. — It shifts the billionaire‑tax debate from eye‑catching annual averages to lifetime burdens and methodological choices that determine policy conclusions.