The pension system thing is complicated but there is a simple answer to your second question: the ultra wealthy pay very little tax, all across the West, because they have no personal income and instead hold stakes in legal entities that buy everything they want.
Zucman has written a bunch of articles on the subject, including one on the US
Isn’t France’s pension system to also blame for this mess? And doesn’t France already have pretty high taxes on the wealthy?
The pension system thing is complicated but there is a simple answer to your second question: the ultra wealthy pay very little tax, all across the West, because they have no personal income and instead hold stakes in legal entities that buy everything they want.
Zucman has written a bunch of articles on the subject, including one on the US