Buffett on Taxes
22nd November 2010
Mr. Buffett says, “I think that people at the high end — people like myself — should be paying a lot more in taxes.” Nothing is stopping him from doing so voluntarily. But instead he has structured his affairs — low annual salary, lots of unrealized long-term capital gains, a big charitable foundation to get around the estate tax — so as to minimize his taxes.
As I never cease to point out, when wealthy people call for ‘higher taxes on the rich’ they mean ‘higher taxes for the rich who aren’t rich enough to afford the sort of tax advice I can’. They’re talking about people who make their money in the form of ordinary income, who are becoming seriously annoying by crowding the best restaurants and resorts rather than leaving them to superrich people — like Warren Buffet (and Bill Gates).