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Simple to understand. He doesn't trust the government with money either.

 

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Warren Buffett's Tax Dodge
The billionaire volunteers the middle class for a tax increase.

Since the media are treating Mr. Buffett as a tax oracle, let's take a closer look at some of the billionaire's intellectual tax dodges.

• The double tax oversight. The Berkshire Hathaway magnate makes much of the fact that he paid only 17.4% of his income in taxes, which he considers unfair when salaried workers often pay more. But Mr. Buffett makes most of his income from his investments, in particular from dividends and capital gains that are taxed at a rate of 15%.
What he doesn't say is that much of his income was already taxed once as corporate income, which is assessed at a 35% rate (less deductions). The 15% levy on capital gains and dividends to individuals is thus a double tax that takes the overall tax rate on that corporate income closer to 45%.

• The middle-class bait-and-switch. Like Mr. Obama, Mr. Buffett speaks about raising taxes only on the rich. But somehow he ignores that the President's tax increase starts at $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. Mr. Obama ought to call them "thousandaires," but that probably doesn't poll as well.

• The charity loophole. For billionaires like Mr. Buffett, the single most important deduction in the tax code is for charitable giving. Middle-class earners can't give nearly as much money away to reduce their overall tax burden. Yet we don't hear Mr. Buffett calling for the elimination of that deduction in the name of fairness.

Mr. Buffett has also already sheltered the bulk of his fortune from federal taxes by putting them into a foundation that will give the money away. That's an act of generosity, but if the government's purposes are so vital, why doesn't he simply give the money to the IRS?

Rebecca Quick of CNBC put that question to Mr. Buffett in 2007. His answer: "Well, that's a choice and it's an option . . . If I had to give it to a single individual, or make some young Buffett a multibillionaire, or give it to the government, I'd absolutely give it to the government. I think that on balance the Gates Foundation, my daughter's foundation, my two sons' foundations will do a better job with lower administrative costs and better selection of beneficiaries than the government."

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Study finds that the majority of domestic and foreign corporations in the United States avoid paying federal income taxes.

By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer

Last Updated: August 12, 2008

 

 

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined samples of corporate tax returns filed between 1998 and 2005. In that time period, an annual average of 1.3 million U.S. companies and 39,000 foreign companies doing business in the United States paid no income taxes - despite having a combined $2.5 trillion in revenue.

 



Corps dont care about the tax rate, its just a shiny issue to distract the Tea Party morons.  But, hint that you want tax reform and corps will start buying politicians faster than Teddy could drown a hooker. 

Cut the corp tax rate to make it competitive with the rest of the world and companies will move resources back here. It really is that simple.

If corporations are "people", then why don't they pay taxes?

 

We have the 2nd highest corporate tax rate in the world. It makes perfect sense from an economic perspective to lower our tax rate and simplify the code by closing loopholes.

 

However, simple minded people such as yourself have a hard time discerning between politics and economics. I have always felt sorry for people like you who do not know anything about economics except for what they hear from some politician on tv telling them what to think. It must suck.

Originally Posted by Kenny Powers:

So what's your solution? Maybe you could offer up something instead of focusing on typos?

How about we return the tax rates to where they were under Reagan? Or, WWII. During the 40's Frank Sinatra paid 90 % of his income in taxes, and he still lived better than most folks. And, he didn't whine about it. I haven't noticed you offering any solutions.

I would rather see the loophole closed that allows hedge fund managers to take their income as capital gains as opposed oridinary income. Raising the tax bracket will put more of a burden on the middle class and small business owners. Contrary to what some say, a couple making $250k isn't rich.

 

I would also like to see the corp tax rate cut in half and loopholes closed to simplify the tax code. Companies spend a lot of money on lawyers and accountants to set up operations in different countries because our corp tax rate isn't competitive. By simplifying the tax code and reducing our tax rate it would encourage american companies to move operations back home.

 

 

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