Berkshire Hathaway

[Running_Man]

Originally Posted by Sam

What's your point? Do you know of anyone who's willing to pay more taxes than he/she is obligated to? Do you, yourself, find way to pay more taxes? Or are you -like all of us- constantly trying to minimize the tax bite?

My point is Warren Buffet is one of the richest men in the United States and he is using his power as best he can to get taxes raised in such a way as it will NOT effect him while at the same time making it appear to the uninformed as though he is advocating the system is unfair and needs to be changed because he is not taxed. He campaigns for the estate tax raised yet he will control his estate's money after his death to be used as he wants but would deny that same procedure to anyone else who has accumulated money. Why should estate money be exempt from estate taxes upon death anyway? Should donations to improve a foreign country be a basis to avoid US taxes?

Very little of Warren Buffet's wealth has ever been taxed. Nor will it ever be, because of course he is so much better than everyone else with money. No changes made to the taxing system will of course effect the very wealthy such as Warren in this country because they make the rules, as Warren is attempting to do and the rules will always have a clause that the rich will exploit because they put the clauses in there in the first place.

That is why you will never see a net worth tax (why is there not universal support for that - wouldn't this be the most fair of taxes?) or a tax on unearned income as if it were earned. Yet there is serious talk, which will intensify when the government needs large volumes of income in the future to tax 401K balances, which will effect the middle class the most and Warren Buffet types the very least.

Because the middle class has come through one of the largest bull markets in history the retirees of today are in some of the best shape of all time and hold significant assets. That money is the money Warren Buffet through Hillary Clinton wants to tax in order to maintain the US infrastructure which the ultra rich such as himself will be able to continue to exploit to their advantage.

Instead we have people who finagle the system to take advantage of every rule to argue the system is unfair when they have no intention of paying a dime of what they argue is their fair share. To argue that a country's tax system needs to be changed for everyone but yourself is what I do not find at all appealing about Warren.

And in answer to your question I do not go out of my way to avoid taxes. Nor do I constantly try to minimize my tax bite. Are you implying that the government should design laws that would only effect people such as yourself in order to make the tax system more fair?

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Running_Man

My point is Warren Buffet is one of the richest men in the United States and he is using his power as best he can to get taxes raised in such a way as it will NOT effect him while at the same time making it appear to the uninformed as though he is advocating the system is unfair and needs to be changed because he is not taxed. He campaigns for the estate tax raised yet he will control his estate's money after his death to be used as he wants but would deny that same procedure to anyone else who has accumulated money. Why should estate money be exempt from estate taxes upon death anyway? Should donations to improve a foreign country be a basis to avoid US taxes?

...

OK, I admit that I don't know anything about WB's influence on the US's tax policy. So I won't speculate about things I don't know.

What I do know is that he is giving away the major portion of his wealth to charity. What I do know is his wealth was built legally. The ends justify the means.

Originally Posted by Running_Man

And in answer to your question I do not go out of my way to avoid taxes. Nor do I constantly try to minimize my tax bite.

Good for you.

Originally Posted by Running_Man

Are you implying that the government should design laws that would only effect people such as yourself in order to make the tax system more fair?

Huh? Whatyama talking about?