How One of the World’s Wealthiest Individuals Avoided Taxes for Years
Many people are always complaining that the wealthy don’t pay their fair share in taxes. While that is an argument that will never end, it seems that one of the world’s richest men might be guilty. That’s because he was able to avoid paying taxes for more than 40 years. How is that possible? The wealthy taxpayer in question is the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, who is reportedly one of the top ten richest people in the world.
Although IKEA is clearly influenced by all things Swedish, the man who built the IKEA empire left his native country more than 40 years ago in the name of tax savings. IKEA is the number one furniture store in the world and in the fiscal year 2014-2015 the company reported 31.9 billion euros. However, taxes have always been a huge part of IKEA’s success. That’s exactly why Mr. Kamprad left the country he loves for Switzerland. He wanted a tax break.
While he did pay taxes in Switzerland during those 40 years, he legally avoided what would have been a much larger bill if he had stayed in Sweden, for both his company and his personal income. Now, after all these years he has returned to his native Sweden and in 2014 he paid what amounted to about $2 million in taxes to Sweden, while his net worth is reportedly worth an estimated $43.2 billion.
John Hoffmire
Transcript of John Hoffmire: Alan Olsen: One of the areas that you’ve been involved with is impact investing, what is impact investing? John Hoffmire: Well, impact investing can be defined as a number of different ways. I’m going to define it in the broadest possible way, where investments of almost all types make an…
Add These Leadership Skills for 2021
As we begin to exit the pandemic, are you looking to grow or enhance your leadership skills this year? If so, it is vital to have a plan as no one can expect to become a better leader just by showing up every day. Here are some important things to focus on in 2021. These leadership…
Workplace Accountability in Four Steps
Have you encountered a co-worker, boss or employee, who slacks off, unloads their work onto others, or takes credit for work and ideas that are not their own? Accountability in the workplace can often seem a bit too scarce, especially when the competitive drive kicks in. Or perhaps, someone that works hard, but never seems…
What’s Love Got to do with Leadership?
What is the most important attribute of a good leader? While it is difficult to single out one overarching attribute, according to leadership author, Lolly Daskal, “The single most important factor that differentiates a good leader from a great leader is LOVE.” Truly exceptional leaders know how to lead with love. One of the main…