Warren Buffett Has No Problem Backing the Buffett Rule
The Oracle said as much in a letter to Buffett Rule scribe, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): Billionnaire investor Warren Buffet said in a letter Wednesday that he was “delighted” to support legislation to implement the “Buffett Rule,” which would ensure that those making over $1 million annually pay at least a 30 percent effective tax […]
Warren Buffett Takes a Burlesque Approach to Releasing Tax Return Info
The Oracle of O proves to be a master tease artist:
In a letter to Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp Tuesday, Buffett revealed that his adjusted gross income last year was $62,855,038 and that his taxable income was $39,814,784.
Buffett said he paid $15,300 in payroll taxes. Buffett also said his federal income tax bill came to $6,923,494, or 17.4% of his taxable income — two points he revealed in a New York Times op-ed in August urging Congress to tax the wealthy more.
In another act of twirling his pasties, WB repeated his challenge to all his fellow “ultra-rich” peers to whip out their tax returns. Not sure if the OWS gang has jumped on this band wagon yet but it’s worth putting out there.
Warren Buffett Would Like to Clarify His Feelings on The Buffett Rule
“It isn’t [my idea] to have the rich pay more taxes. It’s to have the ultra-rich pay more,” he said on Bloomberg Television Friday. “It isn’t to have the rich pay more taxes. It’s to have the ultra-rich who are paying very low tax rates pay more taxes. There’s all kinds of ultra-rich who pay normal taxes, but there is a small segment–but you can find them very easily–who pay very low taxes, including me. People who make money with money only pay very low taxes at very high levels of income. … What I’m talking about would probably apply to 50,000 people out of 310 million in the country. [BBR/The Hill]
Mayor Bloomberg Not Impressed with All This Buffett Rule Drama
“The Buffett thing is just theatrics. If Warren Buffett made his money from ordinary income rather than capital gains, his tax rate would be a lot higher than his secretary’s,” he said. “I think it’s not fair to say that wealthy people don’t pay their fair share. They pay a much higher percentage of their income, they have a higher rate than people who make less,” Bloomberg added. [CBS/AP]
Let This Be a Lesson to All Billionaires That Give the Thumbs-up to a ‘Rule’ with Their Name Attached to It
The GOP is making a concerted effort to pressure billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett to release his tax returns to the public. Republicans say Buffett — the public face of Obama’s proposed “Buffett rule” to increase taxes on the wealthy — needs to reveal his finances if his views on tax rates are going to serve as the basis for Obama administration policy. “Will Warren Buffett release his tax returns so we can see why he should be the standard for tax policy?” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) questioned in a tweet Thursday. “If he’s going to be the gold standard, so to speak, in terms of what our tax policy should be, yeah, let’s look at it [his tax returns],” Cornyn told ABC News. [OTM/The Hill]
President Obama Would Like Those Critical of His Deficit Reduction Plan To Get a Nerdier Argument
By now, you’re probably heard about President Obama’s new plan for reducing our nation’s deficit. It involves raising taxes on the wealthiest of citizens including this new thing called the “Buffett Rule” which would force anyone making $1 million a year to pay a tax rate that is at least as high as the one paid by middle-income taxpayers. Predictably, Republicans have not warmed to the idea and are reacting on cue. Congressman Paul Ryan (WI) got feisty, saying the Buffett Rule was an example of “class warfare.”
The President, not always thrilled with criticism, sees it as slightly more complicated than that:
“This is not class warfare — it’s math,” Mr. Obama said from the White House Rose Garden, addressing GOP critiques of his plan head on.
Yeah Paul Ryan, Mr. Chairman of the House Budget Committee. If you’re not willing to get all nerdy about it, the President doesn’t want to hear it. Come back when you’ve got a blackboard filled with equations.