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Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Owes Taxes Going Back To 2002 [edited]

. Most folks that start a business from scratch often have little to no basis in the stock of the company.


So you claim, do you have anything to back it up? Most people have to put up their own money as capital in returns for the equity. When calculating the basis for capital gain tax, who would be stupid enough to choose the lower value?


Your last comment says a lot about you.


You're entitled to your opinion, but you're not answering the question.
 
Duplicate.
 
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That's a horrible analogy. If the US were to stop importing oil tomorrow, possibly every industry would seize up and we would face a crisis ten times more severe than the Great Depression. If Warren Buffet believes in paying higher taxes, yet refuses to donate a single dollar to the Treasury, it is absolutely hypocritical. A far more accurate analogy would be a rich man who believes the wealthy should pay their "fair share" yet refuses to step up and pay his "fair share." Oh wait a minute, I guess I don't need an analogy.


According to some people's rationale here, to be not hypocritical, he should take actions that hurt himself (the fact that he has fiduciary duty to his company doesn't seem to matter to some), so for the US to not be a hypocrite, it should take actions that hurt itself. Which is why I call it stupidity. Now do you get the point?

Buffet has pledged most of his wealth to charity, so you're still way off base.

Further, Buffet never said that anyone should pay more than what the rule says they should pay, he said the rule should change to make some people pay more. It doesn't matter if he pays the Treasury more out of pocket or not, call him a hypocrite if that makes you happy (just don't be a hypocrite yourself and judge others differently), the fact remains that his tax burden is lower than his secretary because of the lower capital gain tax.
 
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No...the example I cited CT is precisely applicable and accurate. Buffet CAN do everything he says he SHOULD do...he simply doesnt do it.

The problem is that you don't get what he is saying. Where did he say that he should pay more than what the tax rate requires him to pay? If he, and only he alone, pays $10m more a year, then what would that do for revenue? Not very much. But if everyone was required to pay a few percents more a year, the difference is substantial. Most of you who criticise him just don't seem to understand that concept.

So not only is Buffet a liar...he doesnt pay less taxes than his secretary, he is also a hypocrite AND to cap this gem off...we have the president using his lie to promote 'the Buffet Rule'...which isnt even what Buffet wants or suggests. See how insipid this all is?

Why don't you provide us with a link and we can really see if Buffet lied about anything.
 
Here's an opinion piece Warren Buffett wrote:

“OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.”

No matter what we think of the guy...whether or not he's a hypocrite...what he says here is not only true, but a disgrace. Really.

Quote of the Day: Warren Buffett - Political Ruminations

As to him being a hypocrite, if his company is delaying their tax consequences through legal means, well, I guess that's gotta' be okay. But there's something in the law called "unclean hands." In the law, it means that if a person expects a court to intervene, that person must have "clean hands." IOW, you can't ask the court to enforce your contract to sell drugs to your dealer. I think this doctrine is why people (myself included) think he's a hypocrite. Just because something is legal doesn't mean it's moral.

And this **** is what the Wall Street protesters should be clamoring about. Not forgiving their freakin' student loans. (But I digress....)
 
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Here's an opinion piece Warren Buffett wrote:



No matter what we think of the guy...whether or not he's a hypocrite...what he says here is not only true, but a disgrace. Really.

Quote of the Day: Warren Buffett - Political Ruminations

As to him being a hypocrite, if his company is delaying their tax consequences through legal means, well, I guess that's gotta' be okay. But there's something in the law called "unclean hands." In the law, it means that if a person expects a court to intervene, that person must have "clean hands." IOW, you can't ask the court to enforce your contract to sell drugs to your dealer. I think this doctrine is why people (myself included) think he's a hypocrite. Just because something is legal doesn't mean it's moral.

And this **** is what the Wall Street protesters should be clamoring about. Not forgiving their freakin' student loans. (But I digress....)


You are confusing what Buffet is doing or not doing with criminality or even anything remotely wrong, and legislative procedures with judiciary procedure (legal doctrine). Buffet, or Berkshire Hathaway, has not done anything illegal or wrong. No one has shown that the company is evading tax, the amount is in dispute and no one even know the true amount in dispute. Therefore his hands are clean. Nor is he asking the court to do anything, rather he's pointing that the legislature can change the law to make millionaires pay more to bring in higher revenue.
 
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