Listening
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- Aug 27, 2011
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Warren Buffet has a lower tax rate than his secretary | The Unofficial Stanford Blog
Mr Buffett said that he was taxed at 17.7 per cent on the $46 million he made last year, without trying to avoid paying higher taxes, while his secretary, who earned $60,000, was taxed at 30 per cent. Mr Buffett told his audience, which included John Mack, the chairman of Morgan Stanley, and Alan Patricof, the founder of the US branch of Apax Partners, that US government policy had accentuated a disparity of wealth that hurt the economy by stifling opportunity and motivation.
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This is simply untrue.
Buffet knows we have a progressive tax system and that the more you make (in taxable income), the higher a percentage you will pay.
How does anyone buy into this crapp ?
Because we do more reading than you...
WASHINGTON, D.C.--The 400 highest-earning taxpayers in the U.S. reported a record $105 billion in total adjusted gross income in 2006, but they paid just $18 billion in tax, new Internal Revenue Service figures show. That works out to an average federal income tax bite of 17%--the lowest rate paid by the richest 400 during the 15-year period covered by the IRS statistics. The average federal tax bite on the top 400 was 30% in 1995 and 23% in 2002.
Richest 400 Earn More, Pay Lower Tax Rate - Forbes.com
Actaully, that does not seem to be the case.....
From what I can tell, the real discussion here is the fact that Buffet pays taxes on several different types of income, whereas his secretary is only paying income tax.
Buffet's next tax rate is lower than his secretary's, but is anyone going to state openly that his personal income tax rate is lower than that of his secreatry ?
O.K.....you might do more reading...
But, from what I can tell, there has been little effort to get everyone on an apples to apples comparison.
And that is where the real debate lies....from what I can tell.
It is that Buffet himself has said that this "net tax rate" is what he feels is out of kilter. And that seems to be what all the blather is about.
Tell me if I am wrong.
Are Buffet's personal tax returns public record ? If so, how much did he pay in terms of absolute dollars ? How much did his secretary pay.
If Buffet's net tax rate were the same as his secretary, how much more would he pay ?
And how much of the deficit would be erased by this difference ?
Do we have that math anywhere ?