What a thoroughly nice bloke Warren is, although I'm not sure if his friends would agree. Buffett urges US Congress to up tax for billionaires Warren Buffett has urged the US Congress to raise taxes on wealthy American individuals in order to cut the US budget deficit. Mr Buffett maintained that the move would not hold back investment or employment growth, stating instead that "my friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice". The billionaire continued that his federal tax bill for the last year, including both income tax and the payroll taxes paid by him, was USD 6,938,744, on which he commented, "That sounds like a lot of money, but what I paid was only 17.4% of my taxable income - and that's actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens... averaged 36%". He referred also to Internal Revenue Service data which reports that the tax burden on America's wealthy has decreased within the past 2 decades, from 29.2% in 1992 to 21.5% in 2008. Mr Buffett proposed that for those making more than USD 1 million, rates should be raised immediately on taxable income in excess of USD 1 million, including dividends and capital gains. Meanwhile, those making USD 10 million or more he suggests should get an additional increased rate
The problem is that Buffet is obvious a patriotric American who believes in "shared sacrifice". What about your less well-known millionaires who will just move their wealth to the Caymans, thus starving the US economy of much needed taxation. Nice gesture nonetheless.
The rest of the billionaires will not be happy with him, they spend all year finding ways to pay less tax, but I've always been a fan of Buffett, even if I wouldn't be telling the government to tax me more.
They can move their savings all they want. Buffett is on about their earnings being over USD 10 mil. If someone is receiving an executive salary or payments, I'm pretty sure they have to go throught the indigenous country's banking service or it gets flagged as tax fraud. Fair play Warren Buffett - America is a dichotic anachronism - richest country in the world but 17% living below the poverty line. Gleaming skyscrapers for companies and bridges and public buildings that just fall down through lack of investment in infrastructure. His country needs more like him
Bravo that man I lived in New York for four years. In that time you would see people on the subway and on the streets of Manhattan, still in their suits and work uniforms, who had literally just lost their jobs and with it all their health insurance and with no means to pay rent etc, being forced to beg for handouts For the richest county in the world (is it still, or is it now China?) I always found that to be a massive schism.
