New data released by the Joint Committee on Taxation shows "it's long past time to crack down on mega-IRAs," Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Wednesday.
The new JCT data, requested by Wyden and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., provides an update to a 2014 Government Accountability Office report requested by Wyden.
The GAO report, which used 2011 tax data, showed nearly 8,000 taxpayers had aggregate IRA balances of $5 million to $10 million. A total of more than 9,000 taxpayers had $5 million or more.
"The new JCT data show a threefold increase in aggregate IRA balances of $5 million or more," the lawmakers said.
As of the 2019 tax year, nearly 25,000 taxpayers had aggregate IRA balances of $5 million to $10 million. In total, more than 28,600 taxpayers had more than $5 million, including 497 taxpayers with aggregate IRA balances of $25 million or more, the JCT found. The average aggregate account balance for these 497 taxpayers was more than $150 million.
"It is shocking, but not surprising, to see how the use of mega-IRA accounts by mega-millionaires and billionaires has exploded," Wyden said Wednesday during a hearing. "IRAs were designed to provide retirement security to middle-class families, not allow the super wealthy to avoid paying taxes. This is the perfect example of what I've long called the tale of two tax codes."
