We keep hearing that Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. President Obama made that claim and has been asking Americans to consider whether that is fair.
The quick answer of course would be to say that of course it isn’t everyone should pay the same rate and we should scrap the mountain of deductions and loopholes that allow Buffett to pay lower taxes or a massive company like GE to pay no tax.
That misses a very important point in the debate though.
Buffett is paying a 15% tax rate because his income is derived from capital gains through selling shares. His secretary would be paid by Buffet’s firm Berkshire Hathaway and would likely be paying 25-28% income tax to the US federal government.
Obama is now proposing a millionaires tax he’s calling the Buffett tax and it seems the Oracle of Omaha supports the idea, and the name.
Mitch McConnell told David Gregory on Meet the Press that if Buffet is feeling bad, he can send in a cheque, or I suppose check. McConnell also raises some valid points, including Democrats voting down such a tax hike two years ago.
Now a final note on Buffett. If he really thinks the rich should pay more taxes, then McConnell is right, he should send in a cheque. Seems he owes back taxes dating back to 2002.
Buffett really is a hypocrite here.
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