Sunday, October 3, 2010
2,840 Millionaires Claimed Jobless Benefits in 2008
After the economy slipped into recession in 2008, millions of Americans received unemployment benefits to make ends meet -- including almost 3,000 millionaires.
According to IRS data, 2,840 households reporting at least $1 million in income on their tax returns that year also collected a total of $18.6 million in jobless aid. They included 806 taxpayers with incomes over $2 million and 17 with incomes in excess of $10 million. In all, multimillionaires reported receiving $5.2 million in jobless benefits. ...
“Getting an insurance payment doesn’t depend on need but only on suffering an insured loss,” said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow and expert on tax policy at the Urban Institute, another Washington policy research organization. “We don’t say that your homeowners’ policy shouldn’t pay off if you’re a millionaire.” [Click on chart to enlarge.]
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2010/10/2840-millionaires.html
Comments
The implication, of course, is that the million was earned before the unemployment. That may usually have been the case, but how do we know? The laid-off busdriver may have had to sell the cabin at the lake, that had been in the family for years. The paralegal may have lost her job in August, then found a new one in November and to celebrate, bought the winning lottery ticket. The technician unemployed in April may have met the perfect millionaire in June and married her in December.
Posted by: Bob | Oct 3, 2010 12:22:41 PM
They didn't get to be millionairs by being fools, like turning down money to which they are entitled.
Posted by: Woody | Oct 3, 2010 7:39:17 AM
It's insurance, what's the story?
How many millionaires collected on their car insurance?
Posted by: Bill Jones | Oct 3, 2010 1:30:20 PM