Warren Buffett Reveals ‘Billionaire Friendly’ Tax Return

I love the idea of being able to check the “tax me more” box on a new 1040 Tax Return. If you’ve got it and you don’t think the gov’t has a spending problem, go ahead. Check the box and send in your extra, unwanted money. Mr. Buffett can get it started next year!

“His taxable income subtracts exemptions and itemized deductions, such as charitable donations, certain business expenses and state and local taxes, ” … Ahhh, Buffett.. you don’t need to take these deductions. You could of just left them out and PAID MORE TAXES!

“asking the super-wealthy to donate half their fortune to philanthropic causes.”….. And please.. DO NOT DEDUCT THEM on your taxes.. make it a TRUE charitable donation.

Why doesn’t he just give the Gov’t all of his money? There is nothing to prevent him from donating every penny he wants.

He’s just doing it for the publicity. Plus, to be honest, I think he’s getting a little senile.

It’s not uncommon for companies to have arguments with the IRS about what is due. There is no reason this person should pay more when others at that income level don’t. This is a silly premise. What’s even more silly are the poor people putting down the rich guy that says their taxes are to low at that level. It’s like this country hit some brain drain.

Every Democrat in this Country and in DC may buy his horse ####, but this one don’t. Buffet is not only a RICH @@@hole, but he is playing politics with his Riches.. That makes him no differnt than the RICH Republicans that do. REPLACE everyone in DC.. Every election send NEW people to DC… THEN, the POLITICIANS will get it that we are tired of the same old same old. Wallstreet does what Wallstreet does BECAUSE the Politicians are in bed with them. Oh.. I know my Buffet wants us to think he is isn’t.. but he is full of it. Just like Nancy Pelosi.. her wealth went up 62% from last year… GUESS where most of it came from?? WALLSTREET. Go after the ROOT CAUSE.. POLITICIANS… they are robbing us blind, and then acting like it is someone else causing the problems.

One just needs to read the comments here to realize why Mr Buffet is a billionare and why the people that post here will never be.

Not uncommon? He should quit preaching then.

It has nothing to do with what he’s preaching. You poor people putting him down are a far bigger oddity.

I think many here are missing the whole point. How do you know that Buffett WOULDN’T use the “tax me more” button? But how many millionaires do you think would actually CHOOSE that option? How many people in general would actually CHOOSE to pay more taxes? Buffett is trying to show that despite making billions of dollars last year, he only paid 17.4% of his income. Republicans are always saying paying back the debt shouldn’t be on the backs of those who earn more simply because they earn more…people should only have to pair their fair share. IMO, 17.4% of billions of dollars is NOT a fair share, and Buffett is trying to point this out. I pay almost that now, and I only make $68,000 a year. It’s not a matter of asking someone to CHOOSE to pay more.

secondlook, nice with the baseless ad hominems. that being said, there’s nothing stupid about asking what people are asking for. and i don’t pull this often, but BA, MA and JD doesn’t equal “stupid” my friend. so, if you’d like to crawl out of the gutter, what’s enough, if what he’s paying isn’t enough? since you’re the supposed percentages expert, what’s the percentage he should be paying?

The so-called super rich are just liek the banking industry. When you figure a way to stop their shenanigans one way, they’ll just find a way to do it another way.

GRUMP – I’m sorry, but it’s stupid. Somewhere these billionaires have cocktails and laugh and laugh at how dumb you people are for feeling so sorry for them. You’re another one that got on here ranting forever about that deficit and now you take this stance? So if a guy made three trillion this year and paid a million in taxes since it was such a high number in your mind and just felt like an awful lot of money to you then you would feel he paid enough? Thank God you don’t run this country. What you’re pulling is somehting I don’t remotely believe. If it’s true then we have more serious educational issues than I had a clue about. He can by God pay at the LEAST the same percentage we pay in this house. This is absurd. These are not your friends, you do not need to protect them, it’s STUPID. We have had a progressive system since we began, it served us wel, it’s not supposed to mean I pay a higher percentage than the super wealthy.

newcountry if so many of you would cease operating on such stupidity I would not feel the need to insult. I’ve had it with this. It’s just bat crazy. This country will reach a tipping point coming up if we keep allowing this deficit to climb like so many of you evidently believe it should.

secondlook, that’s a non-answer…or in legal parlance…a non-responsive answer. you debase yourself with such foolishness. you say the rich don’t pay enough, but you refuse to say what you think is enough. it’s essentially an admission that you have no idea what you think is right or fair, and rather, that your just raging for the sake of rage. if you think they should pay more, then say what you think they should pay…either in an amount or a percentage. otherwise, you are not making an argument, you are simply making a complaint. as judges ask plaintiff’s attorneys every day, “mr. lawyer, what exactly is it you are asking the court to do?” if the lawyer has no answer, the judge says, “well, then i can give you any relief.” same principle applies here. honestly, it’s totally perplexing that someone who calls everyone else dumb and stupid can’t seem to grasp this simply, logical concept.

If taxes are such a noble cause, why is he giving his fortunes to philanthropic causes. Give it to the government if it is the best choice.

secondlook, also, try to wrap your mind around the concept that asking what someone is asking for doesn’t mean you take a position as to the merits or lack thereof of the issue at hand. it’s an inquiry…which requires a cogent response. res ipsa loquitur my friend.

GRUMP stop trying to twist this. They are not paying their fair share of taxes. And idiots that make peanuts compared to them keep arguing with me and they’re hurting my country. I’m not your friend. I hang out with people that manage to have an ounce of common sense.

secondlook, it’s logic and the law. but keep up the insults and the prevarications. it really helps your cause.

Its amazing that people continue to defend a system that favors the wealthy. Make more, pay more. If you are living at the poverty level – how do you have money to pay taxes? You barely have money to pay for basic necessities. Not everyone will be rich. What allows for the wealthy to even be wealthy is the middle class (40% of Americans). The middle class and poor are the most under-represented people – not the wealthy. Truth!

Raising taxes isn’t the solution. We need broader tax reform. The problem isn’t simply that the rich aren’t be taxed enough or the poor being taxed too much. There’s loopholes and other sources of income that for whatever reason dodge taxes or get really low tax rates. The President should’ve been bolder in getting tax reforms instead of just saying hiking up the taxes on the rich (not that I expect either party to really go for that idea).

Of course, nobody on either aisle will support that idea… Except for Herman Cain, but I don’t think people will be fans of a national sales tax on top existing state sales taxes. But at least he put an idea out there.

OMG, exactly. the entire system needs reform.

Pseudo intellectualism is a common trait of some people on the Left.

The capital gains rate was NEVER as low as it is now. Used to be 25%. Just that one change would bring in quite a bit of money without having any sort of surtax. Because most of those in his income class receive about 90% of their income as capital gains, they pay a smaller percentage of their income as tax than the middle class secretary. That is true – I work in accounting and see it all of the time.

There are some ignorant people on this board. Its apparent a lot of you have no idea what Buffet is trying to do.

Christine | October 13, 2011, 12:07 said “I think the point he is making is that millionaires and billionaires get away with not paying taxes.” Really? That was the takeaway? God save us all!

SEARAMBLER – A person would not pay that rate on the lottery winnings if they chose to donate some of those winnings to charity. Evidently Buffett claimed charitable contributions for his gross to taxaxable income difference, I doubt he has any mortgage interest, medical , or miscellaneous deductions so he’s left with taxes and contributions to itemize. His state taxes are probably sizable but I’m certain the charitable make up the majority of his deductions. For him to pay 35% on the total received would not be fair as it would not allow him what everyone else is allowed.

For the dimwits and small minds…and example to show you. If a person is a multi billionaire and is an elected official that takes only 1 dollar as salary, do you think this billionaire lives the lavish life he does on 1 dollar, private jet, mansions around the world, and nothing but the best in oppulance and luxuries? NO. He gets his real income from…”capital gains”. Thus he pays less in capital gains than a wage earner as the capital gains tax is small than income tax from wages. And…he even is able to deduct what he doesn’t take in salary as a elected official as a deduction. And yes, this politician does exists. Just google billionaire public official. Is there something wrong with this picture or not?

Those that attack Buffett for stating the obvious are just lost souls. They don’t understand or don’t know about the human history of the organization of goods and services which ultimately organizes society. They believe in this magical free market. A free market that fails to meet the needs of the majority. The free market don’t care about needs. It only cares about profits. The free market is a farce for laissez faire capitalism. The free market is controlled by the powers that be. They only thing that gives us power is government. It’s through government that workers got the protections from the free market. That is why the powers that be are in control of government today through the legal bribery of elected officials and teams of lobbyists. They have slowly destroyed the gains the people fought and died for. Now those that don’t know this history want to double down on policies that gives the free market more power. Free markets fail all the time. Why do you think we have recessions and depressions? A mixed economy is best. When the free market does not address the needs of the people the government of the people will fill in the void. It’s really simple if you just take some time and think about it. After all, the systems we use are all man made. It’s not universal law that cannot be changed. Why do we allow experts and pundits to tell us that capitalism they way it is now is the best we can do? Think about it?

I am surprised that Buffett paid taxes at all. If a person is allowed to deduct 50% of their adjusted gross income dollar for dollar and he made $62,855,000 and gave away $3.27 he definately had enough deductions.

Buffett is a hypocrite, he wants the rich to pay more yet he didn’t fill out a 1040ez. There isn’t a law that states one has to fill out a 1040 and take deductions. There is a box that one can make a donation. How many rich liberals actually do?

His stake in Berkshire Hatheway isn’t subjected to taxation until it is cashed out. Most will never be subjected to Capital gains since he is leaving a bulk of it to The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which won’t have to pay taxes on it. Billions of his and Mr Gates cash will never be taxed and he wants to lecture the world how he doesnt pay enough and is being coddled.

10% of the population pays for 70% of the taxes. What is a fair share? Enough so the one making the claim doesn’t have to pay their fair share? Even if income back and says that the middle-class pays example. 15% and the rich 11% without the rich persons tax return one doesn’t know what the deductions are. Just jumping to conclusions with no facts. One could have bought a wing at a hospital, funded a non profit and actually paid more to benefit society than being given credit for.

PAY UP. Whatcha saying Don’t donate to charities we want you paying all of the taxes and your too?

Are these basic facts unclear or subject to rational debate? Posted by: dan | October 13, 2011, 1:42 pm …………………..Apparently so. It’s unfortunate that this country’s average level of intelligence is at the 8th grade level.

I’m so tired of haring about Buffet. I wish he’d juts go back to focusing on Bershire Hathawy and get the heck out of politics. He has too much money – he makes too much money – his is worth too much money to even remotely understand what the rest of us commoners are going through. All he’s doing is pouring gas on the fire with his dimwitted remarks.

There’s no point to argue or debate the nitwits here as nothing will ever convince them otherwise. See, the way I see, billionaires and rich folks need lackeys, flunkies, dormats, and fall guys, same people defending them here. They don’t just bend over for them, they jump when told to jump and they even ask if that was high enough. You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink. On second thought, I wouldn’t put these people on the same level as horses. Horses have more smarts than they do.

Tax rates on the upper tiers of taxpayers need to go back to what they were pre-Reagan , about 50% at least , and up to +60% or so on the upper crustiest folks with revisions to the tax code that cut out country club set’s welfare deductions/loopholes as well . If the rich don’t like it they are free to vote with their feet , move to Haiti or Angola or somewhere else with similarly low taxes , and thus the era of the political mollycoddling of the rich will end , which is what needs to happen for America to start really growing again . The rich aren’t at all interested in creating any new American jobs anyway so good riddance to bad useless pilfering whining egocentric rubbish ; the real true Americans will move on with making this country into what it was supposed to be all along ( a compassionate non-warmongering nation ) before the conservatives started their ideological campaign to make the USA a fascist religious /military worshiping theocracy (from Reagan onwards ) . If there is a deficit then the people who’ve been reaping the most from the USA and it’s far right conservative leaning business legislation are the ones who need to pony up the most , certainly . Now exactly how much more is “fair” is really not anyone’s concern who does not have post graduate degrees in economics and statistical analysis ( at a minimum ) to boot , end of story. Also of note , Orly Taitz has a JD , just sayin’…

WHAT planet are you living on??? — You want the “rich” to pay their fair share?? —- What is “fair”?? — Is it the top 1% paying 40% of all income taxes?? — Is it the top 10% of earners paying 70% of all income taxes??? — Is it the bottom 48% paying virtually nothing? — Give it a rest… you have ABSOLUTELY NO statistics to back your position!!!Posted by: TheLoyalOpposition | October 13, 2011, 1:57………………………….I believe I’m beginning to see the confusion. You’re talking about “Income” taxes and the rest of us are talking about “Taxes” as a whole. Since most wealth isn’t accumulated through “Income”, but rather through Capital Gains, Stock Options, etc., the wealthiest 1% wind up paying very little in “Income” tax. If, however, they were taxed on “Earnings” in general without any tax loopholes, they would then be paying their fair share. IMO: it’s actually the top .1% of the top 1% that needs to be addressed. They’re the ones responsible for crashing Wall Street and increasing their net worth by ten-fold while gambling with peoples pension funds and 401k’s.

“So the record of history is absolutely crystal clear, that there is no alternative way so far discovered of improving the lot of the ordinary people than can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleash by a free enterprise system.” ” —————– What he’s really saying is that certain unscrupulous and unethical and immoral people will do anything to get ahead / make a profit when they are put into a situation where they are free to do anything they want to do so , including chaining 4 year olds to sewing machines or sending 4 year olds up chimneys or into mines , or stealing Indian property , killing Indians , bring in slave labor to do the jobs they are too cheap to pay anyone else to do , etc. etc. . Oh yes , all those ugly things definitely increase profits and productivity , and the conservatives are the people who’ve traditionally been 110% behind pro-child labor , union busting and labor regulation busting movements , all in the name of “good healthy capitalism” that really actually noticeably benefits , oh about .01 of the American population …

The only prayer Progressives have to retain ANY control in DC after the 2012 elections……. is to demonize the other side so badly that illiterate and uneducated people will actually believe them!!! — A typical progressive tactic…when they have NOTHING else to show for their last 4 years of control except more debt!!!!

secondlook, keep digging that hole brother…keep digging. you’re never going to win an argument against someone who argues for a living if this is the best you can bring. i’ll be happy to provide a bigger shovel to help you get the job done more quickly. “unusual words”…too hilarious. my first-grader has better rhetorical skills.

NASA and NOAA ( via he money the taxpayers have spent there ) have done far more to improve the quality of the average American life and lifestyle than ANY private business , many times over at that . Yeah Goldman-Sachs and Walmart really help the avg, Joe/ Jane on a quotidian basis (not! ) but if they somehow DO appear to be a positive economic force it’s only when/ if they get to make big unregulated profits , and the honest truth is that those same businesses are usually only of superficial benefit to most working people , and sometimes ( as in the case of G/S and Bear_Stearns et al. , they are sometimes far far more trouble than they are worth.

@ theloyalopposition…..I said the free market = laissez faire capitalism. There are different levels of capitalism you know. Laissez faire do not care about needs only about profit. What drove people to be innovators was not profits, but the needs of others or themselves. Free marketeers only care about making money while exploiting. What Einstein or Ford did had nothing to do with the free market(laissez faire capitalism). Einstein was a free man due to the laws enacted by government that made it possible to freely think. Ford was a business man that realized that he could not sell his products if the very people that built them could not afford to. They were free due to government not a free market. Free markets does not equal personal freedom. Free market is just a euphemism for control of the masses. This country became great on the backs of slave labor and people in servitude. The people rose up and demanded protections and created the middle class. Now the powers that be that love the free market(laissez faire capitalism) want to further destroy the American workers since they are no longer in need of their labor because now they found slave and low wage labor in foreign countries. Why do we allow the people that benefited from our country and workers to then move their operations overseas at the expense of all of us?

Yep, that’s 2dLook for you…always quick to name call and demonize when he finds he’s on the losing side of an argument. But then, most left wingnuts do that.

Curt Petersen 3:07 pm ——— Hmmmmm, where do I begin?? ——— “There are different levels of capitalism you know” …. so we can go back to “traditional” capitalism and you would be fine?? —- “What drove people to be innovators was not profits, but the needs of others or themselves.” …… Some did, some didn’t… Einstein might have been very “noble” and created for the masses…. But Ford created for profit… and his inventions HELPED all American’s by allowing ALL peoples to afford a car… not just the rich!! ——- “Einstein was a free man due to the laws enacted by government that made it possible to freely think.” ….. No!!… The Bill of Rights was created to keep the government AT BAY… so they would not USURP the freedoms we have …. given to us by GOD, NOT government!! ——- “Free market is just a euphemism for control of the masses.” …. HA HA…. tell that to the LEGAL immigrants who come her to open their shops, stores, hotels… who came here for the free market “OPPORTUNITIES”….. “control of the masses… poppycock!!! ——- “This country became great on the backs of slave labor” … also a misconception…. In 1860, only 1.25% of Americans owned slaves… the industrial north had virtually NONE!! — We are the country that began a world-wide movement to ABOLISH slavery!!!!!

“AN easy fix to our economy is to put a fanchise tax on all imports, use that monies to subsidies
small businesses especially those that use our waste to recycle into usefull items”….. no. That raises taxes on all of us consumers. Let the Buffets pay more.

*names*

” In 1860, only 1.25% of Americans owned slaves “============= Kind of meshes with the “1 percenter” theories pretty well I’d say

Secondlook | October 13, 2011, 3:58 pm ———– You’re priceless!! ———– How about admitting the “right” is reacting to the left’s recent moves!!!! —- the immediate “go for the jugular” Obamacare as soon as the progressives gained power… the progressive “spend-fest” when we need fiscal responsibility… the Keyensian theories that go “FLOP” in the night… the attacks and blame-game on anyone and any entitly OTHER than the current administration for their ineptness… the administration’s economic decisions extending the recession and holding back our economy… the voo-doo cult of a “quick” green energy utopia in the face af all evidence……….. face it…. you guys pushed too hard… can you blame us for saying “enough is enough”!!!!???

And that oft named icon of the Tea Baggers and other similarly doltish conservatives , Mr. Thomas Jefferson, REALLY liked his slaves ,( especially a few select female ones evidently ) .Good Ol Tommy went for the brown sugah , and the DNA don’t lie . Lol…

Pay more and the government will just spend more. Simple as that. Do you actually think they will balance the budget? The government needs to cut spending!

Buffett and Obama–what a pair. Both simply love the “poor.” Can our country survive the corruption of our government and politicians?

What I’m finding odd is the defense of this man’s willingness to say he knows he and others with all the wealth should be paying more and all the folks fighting to say he shouldn’t. Then we try to blame the problems America has on this current administration who has had to spend money to stop the bleeding from the previous administrations 2 wars, deregulation, and tax cuts when they had a surplus and exercised no fiscal responsibility but now find it necessary on someone else’s watch to do so. We throw out the healthcare plan that the House and Senate put together and presented to the President to sign as if he put it together all by himself to run this country into the ground even though none of the money for it has been spent. We have an unemployment rate of 9.1% and we focus on that not the fact that at least 90% of Americans are working even through a recession caused by greed in the financial markets that caused the collapse of the housing market. We have a group of people that went from challenging the legitimacy of the Presidents birth to a party against all of his policies because they don’t want big government, yet they run to DC to solve their local issues when it comes to state disasters. Most of them fighting against their own self interest because of ignorance being fed to them by the people with the least to lose. Haven’t seen one Tea Party member give up their Medicaid or Medicare cards to show they believe in Big Government having anything to do with their lives.

Based on what is reported assuming that Mr Buffett files Married Jointly the 2010 tax rate schedule is 35% of the Taxable Income over $373,650 plus $108,421.25. (($39,814,784-$373,650)X0.35+$108,421.25 = $13,912,817.45)) Not $6,938,744! The difference must be Foreign tax credit since this appears to be the only excuse!

Note: The ATM tax calculation would be used if it increased the tax owed!

Obviously he could afford to pay his secretary a lot more money.

Many have known this for years… the rich don’t pay the same rate as the rest of us. The right wingers say that its because they don’t want to pay money to a government that’s corrupt and wastes money. What they fail to mention is that they’re the primary source of corruption (funneling Wall Street money to politicians) and they waste enormous amounts of money on war and on privatization schemes that end up lining the pockets of corporations and politicians. The GOP says the rich should pay half what the rest of us pay (15 to 17%) and make paying more optional. I say give the rest of us in the middle class the same break an allow us to make an optional extra payment that would go to supporting Halliburton, Blackwater, and Exxon.

Tony….Matt…..Why did Buffet choose to give $23M to private charity instead of the govt (MAYBE private charity does a better job)? I’d have to see Buffet’s tax return before I believe what he says.

Is tax rate more important than total tax revenue? After Bush’s 2 tax cuts, the federal govt took in records tax revenues each year 2005-2008 (Go to the IRS website for proof).

I am confused. Where did Buffett’s 2010 earnings come from? He never sells Berkshire shares (which is where virtually all his money is), it doesn’t pay dividends, and his Berkshire salary is $100,000 a year. Is he very actively using a chunk of his other cash to buy and sell shares every year to make low-tax capital gains? Or if the earnings are dividends from non-Berkshire shares then Buffett must have a lot more money invested in shares outside Berkshire than I certainly thought he did. I thought Berkshire was “his life” and was virtually where all his financial interests were.

I find these comments that Buffet should voluntarily pay more taxes to be an off-topic smoke screen. His point is that the rich get a free ride in regards to taxes and that it is not fair. The point is that taxes should be fair and that we all need to pay our fair share. The greedy rich will disagree. I am not wealthy, but even on my >$100,000 adjusted gross income, my tax rate could be doubled and my lifestyle would not be changed, but it is unfair to tell me to write another check when my greedy counterpart will not. It is immoral to defend this gross inequity that the rich enjoy. Instead the conservatives demonize the 47% of Americans who earn so little they owe no income tax. These people only have 2% of the nation’s wealth as a total group. How much blood do you think can be sucked out of this turnip. Respectfully, retired US Army Officer.

I think most of you are missing the point of his argument. It wouldn’t make a huge difference if he gave all his money to the government. He is arguing that the laws currently in place favor the rich and corporations. The laws need to be changed to make sure everyone is on equal ground. That being said, the rich are in control, if the laws change the rich would just pass the buck and fire more people, and export more jobs to continue to feed their bank accounts. This is coming from someone who worked for and watch 2 large corporations destroy peoples lives thanks to corporate greed.

Of course me buffet can pay more taxes, it already in place. All he has to due is stop itemizing his deduction and simple take the standard deduction, Thus instead of paying taxes on 39 million he pay taxes on the whole 62 million.