Buffett Pays Just 11% of Gross Income in Taxes, Wants to Be Taxed More
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According to reports Wednesday, Warren Buffett sent a letter to Rep. Tim Huelskamp saying his adjusted gross income (AGI) was $62,855,038 and his taxable income was $39,814,784. Buffett paid $15,300 in payroll taxes.
His federal income tax bill came to $6,923,494, or 17.4 percent of his taxable income, and just 11 percent of his gross income.
The $23 million difference between his AGI and taxable income was largely from deductions due to charitable giving and local taxes. Further, two key reasons for the lower payment are much of his income came from investments, and payroll taxes are only payable on the first $106,800 of wages.
Buffett told CNN, "People who make money with money are getting taxed at a far lower rate than people who make money by their own labor."
So there your go. Once you get rich, it's all downhill from there.
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His federal income tax bill came to $6,923,494, or 17.4 percent of his taxable income, and just 11 percent of his gross income.
The $23 million difference between his AGI and taxable income was largely from deductions due to charitable giving and local taxes. Further, two key reasons for the lower payment are much of his income came from investments, and payroll taxes are only payable on the first $106,800 of wages.
Buffett told CNN, "People who make money with money are getting taxed at a far lower rate than people who make money by their own labor."
So there your go. Once you get rich, it's all downhill from there.
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There "your" go?
Jeff Payne on Oct 12, 2011 08:03 PMMark as Spam | Reply to this comment
Why do I sense contempt at the end of this article? Are we really opposed to what Buffet is proposing? Please don't try to claim that taxing the rich more (and income over $106K) will stifle business. That is patently ridiculous. Buffet's quote is exactly the point. People who use money to make money should pay a higher rate (or at least, the same rate) than those who use their time and brawn. It's insane to me that anyone, let alone non-millionaires, would dispute that.