So much left off the blurb about Warren Buffet and his view on taxation as to make the OP look completely ignorant.
Buffet pays at 17%, while his office staff get taxed between 33% - 41%. How? He's paying on investment income, while his office staff (as well as you, I, and the rest of working America) are paying from earned income. To make things confusing, he gets paid from dividends that are sent out after the corporation pays taxes on those dividends (35%), investment income is taxed at 15% (don't ask me why he's paying 17% until we see his returns).
To make things more confusing, he runs investments with a holding period of "forever". Investments get taxed according to the rate of their holding period, short term investments have their realized appreciation taxed at a higher rate than than do long term investments. Investments that have no end date and remain unrealized can make the investor very wealthy through appreciation and are taxed at 0%. Last year Buffet's net worth gained $3 billion. If he had to realize those gains at even 17.4%, he would have paid in $522 million in taxes, instead of $6.9 million of his "taxable" income.
So what does he gain by calling for higher tax rates on millionaires? The best PR money can't buy for himself and his company, Birkshire Hathaway. After all, who couldn't agree with a billionaire that wants wants to pay more taxes (while hiding how he won't)? It sounds great, but anyone that's really paying attention will see he doesn't really do anything, and it's the best sucker bait around that gets repeated by tools. If he wanted to be taken seriously he could cut a check to the US Treasury for 30% of his net worth instead of 17% of his "income".
Tl;dr: "Do as I say, not as I do, you ignorant sheep."
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2011-08-19 05:02 am (UTC)Buffet pays at 17%, while his office staff get taxed between 33% - 41%. How? He's paying on investment income, while his office staff (as well as you, I, and the rest of working America) are paying from earned income. To make things confusing, he gets paid from dividends that are sent out after the corporation pays taxes on those dividends (35%), investment income is taxed at 15% (don't ask me why he's paying 17% until we see his returns).
To make things more confusing, he runs investments with a holding period of "forever". Investments get taxed according to the rate of their holding period, short term investments have their realized appreciation taxed at a higher rate than than do long term investments. Investments that have no end date and remain unrealized can make the investor very wealthy through appreciation and are taxed at 0%.
Last year Buffet's net worth gained $3 billion. If he had to realize those gains at even 17.4%, he would have paid in $522 million in taxes, instead of $6.9 million of his "taxable" income.
So what does he gain by calling for higher tax rates on millionaires? The best PR money can't buy for himself and his company, Birkshire Hathaway. After all, who couldn't agree with a billionaire that wants wants to pay more taxes (while hiding how he won't)? It sounds great, but anyone that's really paying attention will see he doesn't really do anything, and it's the best sucker bait around that gets repeated by tools. If he wanted to be taken seriously he could cut a check to the US Treasury for 30% of his net worth instead of 17% of his "income".
Tl;dr: "Do as I say, not as I do, you ignorant sheep."