If Warren Buffet was really concerned about paying JUST 17%, why didn't he send in more? The IRS would be glad to take his money. They even have a form for it. I'll tell you why, because he doesn't like the government confiscating his money any more than the rest of us.

Barry, Chattanooga, USA

Chri, Laramie
Top 1%, $364,000, pay 40% of income taxes.
Top 5%, $145,000 pay 60% of ".
Top 10%, $103,000 pay 70% of ".
Top 25%, $62,000 pay 86% of ".
Top 50%, $30,000 pay 97% of ".
If over $250,000 are taxed at 100% it will only be 600 B. Where will the rest come from?
2005 rtn
irs.gov

Barry, Chattanooga, USA

35% of Americans already pay no taxes. It isn't possible for Obama to lower their taxes. Therefore, the statement that he will lower the taxes for 95% of Americans is just another LIE.

Mike, Sevierville, TN, USA

Finally the Reagan era of voodoo economics and less government has ended. Because of these policies the government is now running the biggest morgage and insurance companies in the world.

Can McCain flip flop on this issue?

J.R. Pascual, Tempe, AZ, US

Attn: Larry, fresno, u.s.a. It's $250,000 +.
81% of Americans would receive a tax break with Barack's plan. 95% of Americans with children would receive a tax break. FACE IT - - big corporations and the mega rich are hiding as much of their assets off-shore now. The bill is DUE!

Chris, Laramie, USA

IDIOTIC.... taxing according to a PERCENTAGE of a person's income is arbitrary. The more productive you are, the more you ALREADY CONTRIBUTE to society and the economy... asking the most productive (highest earners) to pay dramatically more (in REAL dollars, not percentages) is simply stoopid!!!

Dave, Kirkland, WA, USA

Warren Buffet thinks he should pay more taxes on his $46 million income. However, Mr. Obama's tax plan is to make anyone with income of $150,000+ pay more taxes. That's 306 times less than the Decmocrat hero Buffet. Those new "rich" people are already paying more than their share of the taxes.

Larry, fresno, u.s.a.

Wow! So many people way off mark. Buffett states the obvious. The tax system favors the wealthy, under certain circumstances. He simply believes the wealthy should pay a higher percentage of taxe for ALL circumstances. He simply wants laws to be enacted to reflect his belief.

Jim, Washington,

Zach, I doubt very much that you have a better grasp on taxes and finances than Warren Buffett.

G, Oviedo, FL/USA

There is pick-pocketing, mass vandalizations & armed robbery. Then there is TAX. Still again there is TAX on TAX.
The best government, according to me, is one that governs the least. With that I officially rest my case!!!
By the way.. tax!!! whats that?

Josh, Cochin, India

The math doesn't add up, given the tax rates the most a person making $60,000 per year would pay is 17%, and it would be less if they owned a home, had a retirement account, children, medical expenses, charitable giving, any tuition expenses, or a number of other things. If buffets secretary paid 30% in taxes she needs a new tax preparer.

Zach, Greeley, Colorado

How about flat 10 % tax on up to 300 K income and 50-70 % on rest.

Another tax payer, Sunnyvale, ca

Why don't we have a flat tax rate (10-15%) for everyone and eliminate tax loop holes and Corporate Welfare. It is ludicrous that a "cleaning lady" or janitor pays a higher percentage of their income in taxes to, let's not forget, build transportation, energy, water infrastructure, schools, hospitals and other public services that we need. Also it's infuriating that CEOs of large corporations take home millions in government subsidies, essentially corporate welfare. God forbid a working class person get welfare but if a CEO or big company takes subsidies its OK and on top of that they get huge tax breaks from their good buddy "W". What we need is a president that has a clue about what it means to be poor and to have to work hard to get an education and struggle to rise out of poverty.

Alex, San Diego, CA

All that will come of this is the government will make more money. They will now just take out more taxes for the rich and won't lower it for the rest of us. Sick Puppies in charge of America. I'm voting for Ron Paul who wants less goevernment. You should too.

Sarah, Wausau, Wi

I have no idea what is wrong with helping your fellow man. With all the families that struggle to make ends meet, the increase would be only fair. Our system is so lopsided that most of our families are plagued with financial stress. Do you really think that the welfare system, AFDC, or health care helps us to alleviate our stress. It helps but when our employers give us a raise in our paychecks, it often knocks us out of the "needy " bracket. Then we are tossed into a world that we most definitely cant afford.

Julian Unzueta, Lompoc/, CA

warren buffet for president I believe I would like to join this movement.

walter santana, hartford,ct, usa

Plain and simple

www.fairtax.org

When you buy something you pay your taxes. I can't think of a more fair tax system than that!

RB, Auburndale, FL

Jon from Chandler, AZ, you get a grip. Republicans have you brain washed into holding onto the dream of getting rich and then avoiding taxes. How likely is it that you will amass a great fortune and then need to leave it to your family? Highly unlikely, I'm guessing. If you haven't done it yet, or aren't on your way there, I think you'll be stuck in the trailer park for the rest of your tax paying years. And wouldn't it be nice to not have to pay as many taxes? And let those with the most money help support a system they have been milking for years?

Sharon, Princeton, NJ

Warren

Get a clue, If I amass a fortune and want to leave it to my family, that is my business. Taking it thru taxes is immoral. If you want to give yours away, bully for you, but keep your dang hands off of my money. You are nothing but a cleaned up socialist. The fact you support Hillary, who states "that all you young entrepaneurs out there, don't you think that what you make is all yours it must be used for the common good, or oil companies (private companies) profits will be used for alternative fuels. To all you, who don't want to do what it takes to be successful, live with your decisions, but don't come after my or others dollars because you are either to lazy, dumb, or unable to make it yourself. To Craig in Springfield, do your homework, the more you make the higher rate you pay, not lower. The top 10% pay 90% of the taxes, or more.

Jon, Chandler, Az

I sure hope he lives forever as an investor in BRK . But seriously, the world will be a much better place if the leaders of the world get even a tiny bit of Warren Buffet's wisdom. May be they all should be made to read the Chairman's letter to his shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway.
In my opinion, depicting Mr. Buffet as the greatest investor on this planet would be a gross understatement. His wisdom applies to most fields of life.

Shivaji Kumar, Chicago, USA

What Buffet is saying is common sense but none of these rich people care. They defend the lower taxes on their personal incomes by making us think that if they are taxed at the same rate as the rest of us then it will stifle their ability to create jobs. I don't think we should raise taxes on corporate earnings above where they are now except in cases like the oil companies who earn greater than they expected due to oil prices skyrocketing unless they can show directly how they are putting those increased revenues to use and not just sitting on the money. One thing Congress doesn't understand is that lowering or at least capping the tax on the middle class would give them the extra income to save and or be in position to spend on consumable goods and deal with inflation. Inflation is not measured by the real stuff we buy day to day so they don't get that basic goods and services cost more today than 1 and 2 years ago.

Craig , Springfield, VA

We say in India "Washing sins before death".

Feroz, Chennai,

This isn’t anything new Mr. Buffett has been saying this same thing for years. Also this is from a man that isn’t running for office or trying to achieve anything for his self. Instead he is just a man with good old common sense and he knows the difference between right and wrong. Hopefully, God will blesses him and let him live forever.

David B., Charlotte, NC

on a simply view..lower the tax then suddenly consumes will raise, but only on a short term (6 months)... As there are more money available on the market inflation will steeply raise as well.. therefore after 6 months the buying power will remain unchanged.

Warren buffet investments make work thousands of people around the world whether direct or indirect. if he pays more tax maybe 5000 people more could have free healthcare, consume of luxury goods etc. etc. and investitors trust will drop on the other side ...

I eran as much as his secretary and i'm the first person to recognize the inequity of wealth division...however the magic formula doesn't exist as failure of socialist states has proven

Marco Grandi, london,

I find it laughable that a good portion of those offering financial criticism cannot grasp something as simple as cost of living adjustments. $60K for a secretary (someone most likely without a degree) is a lot in Omaha.

J, St. Louis, MO

Warren Buffet is just now realizing that the rich and super-rich need to pay their fair share? That's not the way it works, the rich and super-rich will continue to pay as little as they can and influence politicians as they have always done... why? ... because they can.

The only means of stopping them is to ferment ra evolution that does indeed threaten democracy as we know it. Democracy is just society's word for 'survival of the fittest and screw the weaker of society'

Billnospam, Largo,

WOW, it looks like Buffett has angered some millionairs. So that means he is right. Clearly some people are worried that their tax will be increased and won't be able to offer a grand parties, fancy cars, and private planes. Poor rich people - how can they live without few millions

Poor White Color Worker, Rockville, MD

Don't get mad at people making money. Get mad at the ones that lower their tax rates and make the poorest of us pay a higher percentage of our pay for them. Maybe $60K a year is not much but to me it is a whole lot of money. I live on a whole lot less and have all of my life. It does not make me bitter but the Republicans do with their lies and ways.

Earl Umfleet, Sumner, Illinois

Mr. Buuffet, I respect a guy who gave the bulk of his wealth for charity, but c'mon, you're an investor and we all know your business is about not paying taxes and comissions.

Jose Costa, Lisbon, Portugal

"Republicans want to downsize the size of government to a more affordable, long-term level much like Mr. Buffett runs companies.. Republicans want tax levels lower on all Americans. The government has no right to all of our money."

A fallacy. The Federal Reserve System, a private corporation of bankers, is where all of your tax dollars are ultimately going. They are making a few people very rich. Not a single penny of the taxes you pay goes to government expenses. It all goes to central banks and ultimately, to wealthy, private citizens. Don't believe me? Look it up.

Joe, NJ,

Sounds like his secretary needs a new job!

She only makes $60k, are you kidding me?

Cheap Bas%^*

g., pleasanton, CA

First, I would urge Mr.Buffet to fully disclose any and all tax shelters he uses or doesn't use for his personal or company's benefit.

Anuj, Manhattan , New York

Buffet sounds like a rich guy with a guilty conscience!

Ron C Clair, Sarasota, Florida, USA

Before the French Revolution the richest people paid the least taxes. Voltaire started making people aware that there might be a better solution and wrote plays that inspired revolts.

We know what happened then.

patricia garner, chevy chase, montgomery/MD

"Another false assumption would be that government's role is to create a redistribution of wealth...." JB, Monroe, Louisiana'

He isn't saying that at all. He is saying that his labor is no less relevant than any other persons and he should pay an equal share. I think we all can agree he could not make an excessive amount of money without his secretary, his housekeeper, his driver, his dry cleaner, his employees. So, its a statement to the effect that all peoples work is value added and that everyone should pay an equal amount, percentage wise.

I am able to do very well with the aid of my secretary. Without her, I would have to do her job and mine and that would decrease my productivity, But she is essential to my earnings. Her work is no less relevant than mine, and we should pay the same percentage in tax.

If you are unable to grasp such a simple concept, I pity you.

Mike, Seattle, WA

Is he great?, c'nt expect 'To Have' groups to come out boldly and say Historically Government works for them. And accept they have exploited/used all possible LEGAL loopholes.

More the the Tax laws more grind for 'Have not'.

Have Not, Washington DC, USA

Buffett is in the 0.00001 percent category. I'M IN THE 1 PERCENT CATEGORY YOU GREEDY SOCIALIST! I don't live like Buffett! A large part of my existence is spent keeping my employees busy so I can pay them. I don't fly around in fancy leer jets I can't afford, and I don't own 500 of the finest cars, and I don't leisurely fly to all parts of the world whenever I darn well please. Speak for the one millionth of 1 percent Buffett. As for the rest of us, I do my part. You could care less, with your "Gates Foudation" donation, that is nothing more than a way to keep the government from getting their hands on it. Something us 1 percenters could never imagine doing!

Rick Pedraza, Loxahatchee, Florida, USA

There's a big difference between taxes on regular income and taxes on capital gains. I'm pretty sure that Mr. Buffet knows that. Lower taxes on stock market gains encourage investment in America's economy. If the capital gains tax was increased, the market and the entire US economy would feel the hit. Instead of preaching, why doesn't he just donate more to charity? When government gives your money to those in need, you lose around 30-40% in the transfer. When you give to charity directly, those in need actually receive the funds. That's the right way to do it.

Eric Wenger, New York City, NY

This comes from a man who has adopted the most tax efficient tax structures for his companies and avoids paying taxes at any opportunity. Mr Buffet's mantra has been to minimize tax liabilities all along. What a hypocrite.

Jasper, Greenwich,

Another false assumption would be that government's role is to create a redistribution of wealth. Certainly there are many rich people who do not share Buffet's belief that government's role is to redistribute wealth. I am not rich, but I disagree with using the government as a means to redistribute wealth that was earned. Government might have a role to educate its citizens so they are empowered to build their own wealth, but I disagree that the government should redistribute wealth. If Mr. Buffet has so much faith in the government's ability to redistribute wealth, why doesn't he let them do that with his?

JB, Monroe, Louisiana

Warren is right on the mark. This will only change when he and those of his income level of similar belief start a national movement for equity. I have faith and hope that will happen...

The Common Good should rule for all!!

Bill Perry, Lansing, Michigan

He may be the 'world's greatest investor', but it's pretty obvious Warren hasn't spent much time studying economic systems or world history.

His announced plan last year to donate the vast majority of his wealth certainly gives him credibility in his admirable goal of helping the less fortunate. And he has earned my enduring respect for that. It's just a shame that he mis-uses the public forum he has by not sponsoring a more intelligent approach to taxation policies (and the role of government) than this sort of populist tripe.

Jeff , Philadelphia, USA,

When liberals speak there is always an underlying false assumption behind whatever they are saying. The assumption here is that government spending which is out of control must be funded. Government spending must be cut. Politicians act as if they have a right to spend the same amount of money each year that they spent last year plus another 7,8% or more. This of course is absurd with all the waste in Washington.If you don't like the fact that lower income folks are paying higher taxes than Mr. Buffets 17%, then institute a flat tax of 17% with generous personal deductions. The economy would explode bringing in a huge increase in revenue to the goverment from tax reciepts.Reform entitlements and keep spending under control and deficits would plummet. And if Buffet favors an estate tax why isn't he paying any, giving all his money to charitable trusts?

RP, Lynchburg, Virginia

Hmm...My observation is that the spin meisters are out in full force to "say it isn't so."

You guys are full of it. Buffett is right.

Colin Morris, Los Gatos, CA

People who believe that taxing capital gains at normal rates somehow stifles or even decreases investment are full of baloney.

It's totally illogical that wages---which are earned through labor---should be taxed at a higher rate than capital gains, which are nothing more than piles of money earning interest.

CJ, Houston,

You know, this would not even be an issue if we would only get rid of the private company that prints and backs our money. Interest paid to the federal reserve bank is really the only reason there is such a thing as income tax. Instead of bickering about what is fair and for whom we should come together and alleviate the problem all together. I know most of you will think I am crazy but do the research for yourself, it may be an eye opening experience.

I do agree however, if income tax is a necessity then it should be a simple flat tax without loopholes, just a hard figure based solely on how much money is made during the year. I do also realize however if that was the case there would be a lot of lost jobs because you would not need all the tax professionals and it would cut IRS jobs because of the simplicity and low maintenance (so to speak) of a system like that.

Chris, Parkersburg, WV

What an amazingly vicious response Mr Buffett is getting from his fellow Americans. I think you are all confusing the message and the messenger. I seem to recall that Buffett is giving almost all of his vast wealth to the Bill Gate’s charitable foundation, so comments about his charitable giving seem rather harsh. He may or may not pay over more in taxes than he needs to but the issue he is raising is whether the tax system should be asking more of him and others like him? When the richest, most powerful nation in the world has a health system that leaves so many who are near the bottom of the economic ladder without access to medical help they can afford then there seems to be an anomaly. Perhaps if more tax was taken from the top few per cent on the economic tree then you would be able to treat the less fortunate members of your society with greater compassion.

Kevin, Kent,

I don't know how many times I hear the liberals say that the rich should pay more but those same people sit on there butts all day. The young liberals today don't want to work hard, they want everything handed to them. Then you have the people who want to sit around all day, party and make babies. As with Social Security and Universal Healthcare, they want other people to support them. If Warren Buffet thinks he is making to much money, he can donate all his money if he chooses to. No one is stopping him from doing it. What makes this country so great is you can make as much money as you want without having to worry about the government taking it all away from you. You can be all that you can be.

Steve, Bradenton,

I love how everyone wants to attack a man who is trying to help the people who are bashing him. I am guessing there aren't too many people writing their opinions on here that are making over 2 mil a year. People hear raising taxes and they assume he wants everyones taxes raised. When he is just pointing out that he paid less of an overall percentage than his sec. did. And by the sounds of some of the responses I read I am guessing she makes more then the majority of people who wrote on this site. Treat a man who is giving almost all his money to charity, while he is still alive,with the respect he has earned and deserves. If all the rich where taxed more, people making less than $200k could be taxed less and the gov't would get the same money coming in, I think that is more along the lines of what he thinking. Same amount from taxes, but more from the extreme rich and less from poor. No one will be detered from a dream of becoming wealthy because they have to pay a higher tax.

Erik, Chicago, US

A single person making $60K without any deductions would fall in the 25% on only the income over $31,850. The effective rate that she would pay when including standard deduction and personal exemption is 15%.

Jon Devine, charlotte, USA/NC

I can see him getting down to a 17.7% tax rate, but a secretary earning $60,000 - unless he's counting state income tax in a state that has absurd rates - would only be somewhere in the vicinity of 12%, all told. She won't even be taxed on the first $10,500 or so, and would be paying 10% on the first roughly $15,000 and 15% on the rest. I'm pretty certain she wouldn't get into the next bracket.

Buffett's full of it. But if his money's where his mouth is, advocate a flat tax with an allowance that every American can be tax free on the first $50k they earn each year.

Alan, Vermont, USA

Here! Here! Mr. Buffet's comments are welcomed, however they are a bit late. I truly wish more fortunate and influential people would take the same step Mr. Buffet has, and push our so called "democracy" to improve humanity here in America and around the globe.

The number one cause of government and community failures is the disparity between the rich and the poor. This is exactly what caused the French Revolution. A flat tax would be nice, however, any educated individual knows that some individuals are instilled with better oppurtunities/skills that serve them better than others. To simply say all individuals are created equal (money, ability, capacity) is ignorant to the fact there are disabled individuals. A flat-tax will not work.

The indviduals entrusted to protect America in all aspects, have failed. Referencing Mr. Buffet's concerns, this is just another example. Granted Mr. Buffet's examples are late, some say "It's better late, than never."

Jefferson C., Norman, Oklahoma

According to the IRS statistics for 2004 (the latest available on the web), the top one percent of taxpayers pay over 30% of federal income tax revenues, the top five percent pay over fifty percent, and the top 25% pay over 95%. That leaves 75% of taxpayers (not the total population, mind you, just taxpayers) paying less than 5% of the tax revenues. Should we exempt 75% of taxpayers and raise taxes on the remaining 25% of earners? How fair is that? To suggest that the rich in the US, as in pre-Revolution France, are 'exempt' from taxes, is ludicrous. What we need is a flat income tax -- get the government out of the 'social engineering' business (rewarding certain behaviors with tax breaks) and make every person responsible for a share of the cost of government, regardless how small that share may be. Then people might sit up and pay more attention to the cost of 'free' government services. The Democrats definitely don't want that! They'd lose their voter base.

Robert H., Greenville, MS

As an American, I really don't understand all these comments coming from other Americans. You seem to be saying that because Buffet is wealthy, then he shouldn't complain about the tax code favoring the wealthy. Instead, he should just quietly donate to the government, without making a fuss about it. Huh?

What he obviously wants is for ALL wealthy people to pay at least their fair share, a goal this administration has been actively working against for the past 6 years.

As for some of the ridiculous comments made about estate taxes costing more to collect than they bring in, or that the richest 1% of tax payers pay 99% of taxes, well, that is just plain false. You really shouldn't just make stuff up like that. It is unethical, and it debases the conversation about what is the best for our society.

Deirdre Tisdale, Lexington, MA, USA

The Social Security and Medicare portion his secretary pays is 13.2% including the employer contribution. The solution is to let her invest that in the stock, bond and money markets so she can get the gains Buffet gets instead of getting no cap gains on her Social Security payments. This will spur economic growth and increase retirement savings, Everyone benefits.

Raising the cap gains tax that helps investors will just feed the DC spending madness that bankrupts us all.

While it is a nice idea to help the poor, the real question here is what helps the poor the most. Economics says that the millions of investors making the decisions creates more jobs, more opportunity and more income than federal spending. It increases government revenue more, as well. More people benefit more when dollars are invested in markets to fuel business.

Carl Worsham, Coppell, TX

I think Mr. Buffet point is that he would be less affected by paying 35% of 46 m (16.1 m USD) than his secretary is by paying 35% of 60000 USD (21000 USD). Mr. Buffet would keep 29.9 million, but his secretary would have to manage 39000. If his secretary was taxed 17.7% she could have 10389 USD more to invest for her retirement, or for her children education, or better home, or better health care or just to take a deserved luxury vacation. Mr. Buffet new tax % would cover the tax difference of 1550 middle class professionals earning 60000 each one with 17.7% tax. Buffet recognizes that those 10389 USD are not peanuts for the 99% of the people that are not born wealthy, or with a privileged brain for investment. Obviously Mr. Buffet will be paying more taxes in absolute money amount, but it will have less effect in his wealth and well being that the 10000 USD payment could have in middle class people.

Ivan, Caracas, Venezuela

There is no obligation for a person to help another. Income taxation is simply a liberal's way to force high earners to help low earners by subsidizing their lives. Such compulsory charity is completely unjust, because no one is obligated to lift a finger to help anyone else.

What we need is libertarianism in its purest form, or anarcho-capitalism. A just world would not require anyone to help another, and we'd have a social darwinistic Hobbesian jungle with a ruthless survival-of-the-fittest form of capitalism. Everyone for himself. Ban welfare, social security, medicaid, and all other social welfare programs that constitute redistribution (i.e. forced charity). All taxes should be replaced with user fees for government services, so that people only pay for the resources they USE, and not for what ANYONE ELSE uses. No one gets more from the government than they pay for, and no one pays more to the government than they receive in return in the form of services. THAT'S fairness.

Ben, New York, USA/New York

Shame on you Mr. Buffett,

You statements will be used as just one more reason to raise taxes on those of us who aren't millionaires, and aspire to make something of ourselves and do better for our families.

In truth, I'm certain that Mr. Buffet pays far more than 17.7% of his income on taxes. Much of his income comes from corporations. These corporations pay 35% federal corporate income tax and an average of 6.8% state corporate income tax. If his companies didn't pay that tax, Mr. Buffet would take home far more money. Figuring in corporate income tax, I calculate Mr. Buffet actually pays about 52% of his income on tax. And that doesn't count sales, property, or other taxes.

Do the math yourself Mr. Buffet, if your conscience still isn't clear, just send the government a bigger check.

Justin, Houston,

A) Even if Buffett's numbers are correct, that means that he paid $8,280,000 in tax last year, and his secretary paid $18,000. I make $60k, and I don't pay 30%, but maybe his secretary gets bad financial advice B) Buffett refers to himself as being in the "luckiest 1%." Well, I guess there is an off chance that he is financially stupid and got where he is by luck... C) Buffett has made is $52B in investments, and for that reason, wants us all to listen to him on financial policy. However, had the policies he now advocates been in place when he started out, he would not have $52B, and he would not have the "authority" he now claims. He's like Gates--he made a huge pile of money in a very specific way, under very specific circumstances, but now claims to be an expert on how money works in every way, in every circumstance.

john smith, augusta, ga,

Why not open a debate into a genuinely burning issue. And who better to start it it?

Some of the comments are incredibly blinkered:
Q: Why doesn't he write a cheque to the US Treasury?
A: How do you know he doesn't already? The man already is committed to giving Billions to charitable causes.

Q: How dare he suggest raising taxes for the rich?
A: After a million in the bank and a house and car, kids education covered, and health insured, do we really need the rest?

Someone suggested leaving the rich alone to pay minimal taxes. Do you really believe that the lion's share of the wealthy will of their own free will, contribute massively to good causes? It's not been my experience.

Why not equalise the pay scales? Up for the wealthy or down for the rich. Shouldn't we expect equality in America?

Tony Hobson, Geneva, Switzerland

His secretary paid $18,000 in federal income taxes on $60K?

She must have does her own return.

The numbers don't look right. Buffet must be including other taxes.

Mike Bowers, Philadelphia,

As someone who has earned less than $22,000 in a year, despite having a B.S. degree, I argue that the exceptionally wealthy need to evaluate what a mere $1,000 to $3,000 means to someone earning less than the average annual income. As I point out below, for a low equity employee, the cost benefit of having that income is much higher than to many of you. It is difference between having medicine, health care, a christmas present, or a tank of gas.


Mr. Kuat,

$3,500 to someone who earns $25,000, is the difference between essential medicine, doctor's appointments and food. Mr. Buffet's $177,000 loss costs him no real personal loss.

Mike Illenberg, Washington, D.C.

Some of the posts here are missing Buffett's point. It's not that he should be taxed more, simply that he should not be taxed lass than his receptionist. And mark his words: "it stifles motivation and opportunity." He's absolutely right.

If you heavily tax the lower paid and those who start life without cash, and without the received wisdom from sucessful parents, you are stifling their motivation to better themselves. You are also denying them the chance to accumulate investable cash.

Many people here are making a good case for incentives and motivation for the rich and the better off. If we can motivate even a part of the poorest 50% of our society, we'd all be better off. That's better off in more than just money.

Martin , Birmingham, England

Mr. Buffet, as smart as he is, knows that the tax he paid is a minimum tax. He can pay as much as he wants. Just don't tell the rest of us how much is too little or too much.

Peter Swift, North Adams, MA

As a practical matter, Mr. Buffet can't possibly spend all of his money unless he started buying small countries and that's not really his cup of tea. He certainly has enough to live on so higher taxes to him means nothing. Increased taxes to my family means the difference between my kids owning a vehicle, going to college and necessary medical care. Mr. Buffet, let me have the same opportunity to get rich that you had. Now is not the time to change the rules because you have maxed out your wealth. By the way, you are free to make contributions to the Federal Government in any amount you like, simply make your check payable to "Bureau of the Public Debt" which is an arm of the Department of the Treasury. I look forward to seeing the headline on your contribution.

M. Clay Sewell, Thomasville, Georgia

As Hillaire Belloc once wrote, "The control of the production of wealth is the control of human life itself."

Mr. Buffet may be a phenomenally astute investor, but his grasp of socio-economics seems rather obtuse.

C. Friedl II, Irving, TX

Perhaps if I were a secretary or cleaning lady, I would be motivated to work harder or take more risks so that by creating more value for other people I could be rewarded with a lower rate of tax.
I might spend more of my time being productive so that I can have more dollars with which to improve the economy for everyone.
I'm in favor of motivating people to work harder and be more productive as it creates a better life for all of us. Providing those who are less productive with an easier life motivates them to continue being less productive. We should want everyone to contribute as much value as they can to the rest by creating exchange value for value.

EllisWyatt, Lehi, Utah

Mr Buffett needs to check his math a single person with no deductions, no kids, no 401k etc... would pay $9451 in federal income tax on income of $60,000 which would mean his secretary would pay just under 16% NOT 30%. Get your facts straight first, then you can talk about who should pay how much and what is fair or unfair. As a side note about 45% of the BOTTOM wage earners in this country pay no federal income tax.

John, whitehall, Michigan

Did anybody bother to run the numbers besides me? Buffet, taking him at his word, would pay over $16 million in taxes if he filed individually before deductions (or nearly 35% of his income). His secretary would pay $11,560 if she filed individually before deductions (or 19.3% of her income). That is the absolute high end of payment in our tax system. I think Mr. Buffett is omitting some pertenant details in how the percentages he presented were arrived at. For starters, the comment about how he did not employ any tax avoidance tactics seems to be unlikely. This is just more political double talk from someone who wants to appear like he cares about the middle class. There is nothing of substance in his comments.

Greg, Saint Augustine, FL

If 'luck' is what got him in the top 1 percent then his moniker should be 'The Lucky Oracle of Omaha'. Who is resposible for preventing him from voluntarily contributing more of his 'lucky' income to the national treasury? As I understand the word 'fair' to mean, even when attached to the word tax, is not favoring one more than the other. A fair tax would have each and every citizen pay approx. 9000 dollars to washington, not including state and local. Mr. Buffet seems to be a bit better at investing than philosophizing, and is quickly becoming an election year bullhorn for the socialists.

Thompson, Elizabeth City, NC

Buffet's comments reflect the deep sense of guilt he must have for hiring the best tax lawyers in the business to shield income, otherwise he would clearly be at least a 30% payer. He talks out of both sides of his mouth. In his documents to shareholders he often talks about the tax efficiencies his investments represent to shareholders. If he wants to pay higher taxes i don't think anyone is stopping him. Please pay more !

r.allen Smith, bernardsville, nj

Has anyone noticed that most of the comments calling B.S. on this notion are from the U.S. while most of the comments agreeing with with preposterous notions that Buffet spouts are from the Socialist States.

Steve Campbell, Wichita Falls, Texas, USA

Mr Buffet is good at playing the "benevolent rich man". He set up his business at Bershire Hathaway to minimize tax impact. Over the years he has discussed this, and even bragged on it, in his reports to shareholders
All these remarks are designed to get him good press, a game all rich Democrats play. In public they decry wealth, but privately they do all they can to get and hoard more and more of it. One prime example are the charitable remainder and lead trusts both Buffet and the Clinton's use to avoid paying taxes.
Aat fundraiser for the rich on Hillary's behalf, did anyone question Warren on Hillary's plan to take excess profits. Or does he think, if enacted, he and his rich friends will be exempt and get one of those loopholes our friends in Washington always give out, to their big campaign contributors.
Incidentally I have great admiration for Buffet's investing strategy. I just can't take his politically correct pr nonsense. He has made billions thanks to the estate tax.

David Corsi, Oceanport, New Jersey

The House Bill to consider the "Fair Tax" (a roughly 23% nationwide sales tax to end users...similar to the UK VAT) would take care of this problem. A new Bentley for Paris would carry a 23% tax. As would her new materials for a new house, or a gold faucet in the bathroom, etc.

The IRS would be aboloished, no more personal income tax, no more witholding from pay packets. The rich who spend more will pay more tax. The poorest will get refunds every year so they effectively will have no tax.

Brian Neilson, Orlando, FL

He is free to give all his money to charity if he wants. Or does he need someone to take it from him.

Craig, SJ, CA

I can't believe a billionaire only pays his secretary $60,000 per year.

Chris, Houston, TX

The idea isn't to pay more taxes. The old man's focus is how should everyone else pay less taxes. His secretary should also pay 17%.

Give everyone more incentive to save and invest. Give bigger tax breaks to those who give money away. Cut government spending and entitlements.

guy, monterey park, ca

There is no way his secretary has an effective tax rate of 30%. Buffet is simply quoting her tax bracket. The actual percent of income paid in taxes would be much lower.

JD, Dallas, TX

There is nothing keeping Warren from donating to the U.S. Treasury.

This guy gets weirder as he gets older. At the very least he should be aware that capital is put to more effective use in the private sector than in the public sector.

Gregg Baker, Orlando, FL, USA

A little response to the flat tax proponents that have commented. Flat tax would furthur the gap between the wealthy and the poor. A simple example: 10% flat tax issued and no breaks to anyone. Subject A makes $10,000 per yr, so they pay $1,000 in tax. Subject B make $100,000 per yr, $10,000 paid in taxes. Is the $10,000 really that important when you still have $90,000, no it is not. Comparatively is the $1,000 that important when all you have is $9,000 - hope you think so. Flat tax adds more wealth to the high wage people by putting them in the same bracket as someone who mops floors for a living. It sounds nice and fair and equal and all that flower power talk but in reality it is a flawed concept.

A comment to Mr. Buffett: find your secretary a better accountant. You can afford it.

Tom, St. Louis, MO

Warren is worth billions and yes he does give alot of money away. Don't people get tax breaks for donating to charities? Does he write the donations off? If Warren and his fellow billionaires feel they pay to little to Uncle Sam, why nothing is stopping them from over paying their taxes. It goes to a good cause according to Buffett. One other thing, if Warren thinks the government handles money so well why doesn't he let them pick his next 20 investments?

Tim , North Platte, NE, USA

Folks: Just look who made the law? Lawyers and politicians. Who benefits. Lawyers and politicians and their friends.
Our Congress is but a lot of lawyers and politicians and that is where our problems come from. They give our money away as if there is no tomorrow to their pet projects as if the money is their's to give.
Mr. Buffett's money is his, not ours so he could do what he pleases. The politicians and lawyers are the problem.
G. Cheng, Santa Calra, CA..

George Cheng, Santa Clara, Santa Clara, Ca.

I think what he is really refering to is how "passive" income is taxed versus taxes on labor. The wealthy have money to place into various investments, the profits are usually taxed at just 15%, as opposed to people who work for a living, who see their income eaten away by SS (who knows if you will ever see that money again!) FICO, State (9%+ in CA!) and Federal taxes. The people who are really creamed on taxes are high income WAGE EARNERS., as opposed to the wealthy.

Deb, Agoura, CA

Most commentators don’t seem to understand Mr. Buffet’s opinion. His main point is that there is a systemic failure in tax gathering if the super-wealthy get away with paying less of their private income in tax than a cleaner. This is undemocratic, harmful for society, and harmful for the US. I’m sure he would agree that finding a solution is complex, as nobody wants to discourage enterprise. But to launch insults at Mr. Buffet is like insulting a doctor for correctly diagnosing cancer.

Richard, London, UK

Nigel, as you can see, not only is there huge disparities between classes and race in the States, but there's also a country-wide problem with education, more specifically, reading comprehension ;-)

I agree with you 100%, although I don't hold out much hope that folks here will push our government to do what is right. I had a very similar experience as yours in Ft. Lauderdale this spring. It was especially uncomfortable as I am Black and was on vacation, laying over for a day.

I think that it's too easy for people to not understand how this truly affects families. Many of the comments are from folks that aren't from large cities, which may translate to living in areas where most of their neighbors are of the same class/economic status. In the city, you get to see a broad spectrum in a very small area; it's hard to ignore all these social economic issues - they're in your face everyday. To have a real tax reform could literally change so many families' lives. Here's hoping...

Ella , Philadelphia, PA

The lower income 50% only pay 4% of all income taxes, and data show that the top 1 percent of taxpayers, ranked by adjusted gross income, paid 34.3 percent of all federal income taxes in 2003. The top 5 percent paid 54.4 percent, the top 10 percent paid 65.8 percent, and the top 25 percent paid 83.9 percent.

Recent data show the trend continues for the wealthy to pay even more of total income taxes.

To have tax fairness for all, the best approach would be a national sales tax to replace the income tax. Then even the criminals and tax cheats would pay their fair share, and the resulting savings on tax preparation costs and time wasted would add enormous growth and productivity to the economy.

Michael B. Combs, Gualala, California, USA

The only fair way to tax the populous, is to do away with the income tax and adopt a flat sales tax. This would mean if you buy 10 million dollars in good or just 1,000 dollars in goods you would pay equal percentage rates for both.

c gude, New Port Richey, USA/FL

He is welcome to pay more taxes, but he chooses instead to invest his money into charities he has faith in. He is smart enough to know his money is better spent by private charities than government run programs. But somewhere along the way his logic gets warped.

Garo, San Francisco,

I'm sorry that Mr. Buffet feels that successful people are simply "lucky or fortunate." I work hard for my salary and don't believe that luck has anything to do with it.

He and John Kerry are exactly alike. They think people are simple dolts who gain success only by luck, not by their merits or hard work. Kerry once said the rich were "society's lucky lottery winners."

I guess socialism is alive and well in America hidden in a liberal closet.

John, orlando, fl

God help us! One of the world's wealthiest points out the obvious unfairness of a system that requires him to pay at a tax rate one half that of his employees. The comments (mostly from the US) seem to be running 10 to 1 that he has lost his sanity! I am not a socialist, but the man has a point! The people commenting can't all be so wealthy that the system, though unfair, is to their advantage. I suspect the organized right is sending their bloggers here. Either that, or most of us are already brainwashed.

Michael, Hanford, CA

A bigger question is - why doesnt he pay his secretary more? 60G to work for a big money earner like him? HE IS THE ONE keeping her "poor" not the gov't. And he is comparing labor income vs probably what he made off investments - that is not a valid comparison. I believe in LOW taxes as the gov't is basically corrupt and politicans get RICH off us (see Clinton's rise to wealth) but if Warren wants to pay more - go ahead and waste it and send it to the govt or why doesnt HE go out and find some poor families and directly give them some money instead of these stupid charity middlemen?
I dont believe in inheritance tax as that money was already taxed - enough already!!!!!

Crystal, NYC,

A rough calculation tells me that we could raise Warren Buffet's tax rate to 33% if we charged him the full 15.5% Social Security rate on all his income--with no increase in the current maximum benefit, of course.

Does he want us to satisfy his conscience by taxiing all those other multimillion dollar per year CEO's?

We could, but, then again, maybe they wouldn't work so hard at generating profits and Warren Buffet would suddenly be making a lot less--along with everyone else with a 401k.

Bob Ralston, Carrolloton, Ohio

fairtax.org - treating all americans as equals under the law.

Michael Miller, Atlanta, GA

First he should take his reported 53 Billion and send a $1,000 check to the 52,000 poorist families in the US, then he can shut up!

He shouls also ask Ted Kennedy why his (Kennedy Family) 500 million Trust fund is not in the US... maybe to avoid those same taxes.... what a phony!

Bob, Torrington, CT

Must be nice to earn enough to reduce this argument to numbers. Maybe if the people equation came into it it would be different. The rich and poor divide is getting greater in the US, the American Dream is a dream with little basis in reality anymore plus the millions of people who are uninsured or watching their loved ones die because they can't afford medical bills.

So instead of arguing this percent and that percent, why not look into your hearts and see that people need help, need a safety net, and no-one is providing it. But it's easy to not see these people in the US if you drive from sterile suburban enclave to sterile suburban enclave happily protected from poverty and crime and with a brick wall in your mind where being a decent human being looking out for society = pinko liberal.

Lindsay, England,

Buffett has shown himself to have as little regard for stating the facts regarding taxation as the democratic candidates themselves. If Buffett paid as little as 17%, it is because of capital gains tax rates and not income tax brackets (or maybe tax exempt institutes as pointed out by someone else). Todays AMT, and tax brackets prevent a typical (rich) person from avoiding taxes as Buffett claims. Besides the true revenues from taxes are as follows:

The top 1% of taxpayers pay 35% of all taxes collected.
The top 5% pay 55%.
The bottom 50% of taxpayers pay an astounding 4% of income taxes collected.
(These numbers come from the CATO Institute, the Washington Post published the a similar statistic for the top 1% in 2004)

Bryan, Littleton, Colorado

Its great that Buffett wants give his wealth to charity, but isn't this just another way for him to not pay taxes that he says he believes in. Why doesn't he pay his share of the inheritance tax which he supports and then give the rest to charity? I would begin respecting the Buffetts/Gates of this world if they didn't spend so much time avoiding paying taxes they publicly support and expect others to pay.

Clay Smith, Pilot Rock, Oregon

Thurston in Salt Lake City suggested that the cleaner should set up a cleaning company. Oh yes - and how does she afford the accountants and lawyers to set all this up? Yes, there are tax breaks but most people cannot afford to either research them, be advised about them, pay for such schemes or companies to be set up and so on and so on. Tax breaks have become a plaything of the rich. It is time to add a higher rate tax for IT/IHT/CGT when the figures are in the millions and the rates can be as much as 75% and still not be a disincentive. But it will take governments to agree to do this en masse otherwise wealth merely packs its bags and moves elsewhere. But if this current situation continues, there will be a reaction - delayed by the drug of TV and consumerism - but a point will come when those at the poorer levels will just have to react - and when the downtrodden and inarticulate rise up it is almost always with violence.

Andrew, London, England

WHY in the world do people continue to make derogatory comments concerning Mr. Buffet's observation of the amount of tax paid by his secretary. The most egregious thing this could indicate is that Mr. Buffet isn't totally familar with the percentage tax paid by individuals in various tax brackets. However this lack of knowledge is barely relavent to the correct premise of his argument-- that in many cases those with lower incomes pay less tax than those with the highest incomes. Every time you call him names because he didn't seem to calculate his secretary's tax burden correctly, you sound ridiculous--like you missed the entire gist of his argument and the article. Are you just looking for every conceivable opportunity to put him down, even if what you say hardly makes sense. I wonder.

F.D., Alex., VA

How about a ten percent flat tax for everyone and call it a day.

Morgan, Clearwater, FL

If Mr Buffet is so concerned, why doesn't he just volunteer to pony up a few more billion in taxes. Perhaps it would help the poor strapped government treasury.

Don Howard, Auburn, Washington, USA

Marcus,

Unfortunately your notion that investment translates directly to jobs is misguided, particularly in this age of outsourcing when those jobs are going for pennies on the dollar to workers out of the country. Investments are going over seas, and the trade deficit climbs. This is not enrichment, it is bankruptcy. Back to economics 101 you go.

Charles, Olympia WA, USA

A progressive tax system is the essential underpinning of an capitalist economic republic, in such that the daunting belief of capitalism is that "all ships rise with the rising tide". Gross monetary values are inept valuation measures under a progressive tax system. Seventeen percent of a wage earner's income earning $30,000 as compared to $30,000,000 is a vast difference. I pose the question, which wage earner is more effected by the taxes paid, assuming only a 17% tax rate? If relinquishing the marginal tax rates on the upper-wage earners is truly effective, why has the long-term effects not been seen in gold paved streets and record local surpluses. Instead local governments are increasingly stressed for financial resources. As a member outside of the lower income bracket, I do feel a certain moral obligation to care and aid those less fortunate that I, either thourgh my tithes or through the numerous local public programs.

Richard Camp, Nashville, USA / TN

I do not necessarily disagree with Mr. Buffet regarding disparity in tax responsibility but his secretary should contact a reputable accountant who will most certainly help reduce her tax liability. The 2006 marginal tax rate for $60k AGI is 25% for 2007 (assuming her filing staus is single). The combined tax rate is 20% assuming no deductions or credits (including standard deduction).

Dennis K, Tulsa, OK

If the inheritance tax is the great leveling agent of the government as Mr. Buffett claims, than why are the successive generations of Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and the Johnsons, Whitneys or any other famous family from the gilded age multimillionaires upon birth? If you are wealthy enough to higher the attorneys & accountants, there is a loophole for everything. Those who claim otherwise are just going for the populists spin and the idiot voters.

Chris , Tallahassee, FL

How does he say the government is stifling opportunity and motivation, when he then claims the wealthy get the tax break? Isn't the lower tax a motivation to do better and move up in the world? If one wants to work hard enough to earn 10 BMW's, that individual should be able to. You stifle investment and motivation once you put a cap on people's earning ability. I suspect Warren didn't have this view when he was a young man trying to make his way in the world.

Stephen, New York, NY

If Mr Buffet was to tell all of the companies that he owns, or owns share in to give their employees raises and full insurance benefits, he could distribute all that wealth back t o the people who made the products that made him rich. By raising their pay and benefits he would do it much more efficiently than the government. By the way, why doesn't Warren pay his secretary or cleaning lady more?

Brad Entwistle, Ottawa, Illinois

I am not going to comment on the moral statement Mr. Buffett is trying to make; he may be right, he may be wrong. But he is clearly applying a double standard on his calculations. He is taking his high tax rate and subtracting out all of the deductions and loopholes to give his effective tax rate. He is failing to do the same for his secretary.

My last year in the federal government (2004), I made $60,000. I did not pay a dime in federal tax--in fact the IRS paid ME $1500. The State of Maryland took their 3% and my town took 1%, but the feds took NEGATIVE 2.5%.

Granted I had two kids and my wife is a stay-at-home mom and I had student debt and several other deductions, but there is NO WAY this person is paying $18,000 to the Feds.

Jake, Brussels, Belgium

I can’t help but see the parallels between the much revered American hero Paul Revere and Warren Buffet. The former warned of the British Aristocrats coming to tax the American people into subjugation, and Mr. Buffet warning of the new American Aristocrats doing the very same thing. No taxation without representation. It sounds like the representation isn’t looking out for the American people but trying to preserve the ruling elite that seems to be calling the shots in the current administration..


To all you Yankee doodles who’ve just criticised Buffet’s comments, think about what he’s saying.. he’s saying that he should be paying MORE on his massive earnings…think people, think.

Adam, Luxembourg,

I've been considered to be in the upper income bracket for tax purposes and have paid plenty of taxes over the years. We need to simply the Tax Code and consider the benefits of leaning towards a type of "flat tax", that would alleviate many of the existing loop-holes. Having lived to London for several years, I know that a simplified tax system works and shares the burden of taxes more equally among all people. Until something like this is done, Mr. Buffett can pu his money where his mouth is...There is nothing that does not prohibit him from paying additional taxes, if he choses to, or that would prohibit him from paying his secretary's taxes. Focus really should be more on wasteful spending and the lack of true stewardship on the part of the government, rather than the Tax Code. If better controls are in place, then possibly we wouldn't even be having these sort of discussions.

K. Fisher, Dallas, Texas

For an English paper we Yanks sure have a lot to say. Thank you to the English readers for a calmer read on the story. It sure fired people up over here

I say, "Thank you, Mr. Buffett." I'll take it at face value and as a first step.

Valentin mentions the French Revolution. Let us not forget starving peasants at the gates and the mistress of the house saying, "Let them eat cake." It could happen here.

Dave, P'burg, NJ US

Warren Buffet needs to invest in Fred Thompson for our next president -- I would think Hillary Clinton would remind him of his own mother. We need a flat tax of 10% (that include state and federal). It's funny he was not accepted to Harvard University.

susan, Tulsa, OKlahoma

For starters, the headline is misleading at best. Warren Buffet did not pay "less" tax, he paid a lower rate. Purportedly.

And how in God's name someone making 60k per year got themselves into a 30% tax bracket is beyond me. For starters, her deductions should have easily put her down near $50k taxable [particularly if she's wise enough to have a 401k]. And income between $30k and $74k is taxed at 25% [plus the "progressive" amounts from the lower tax brackets]. But assuming she didn't even tax her personal deduction [highly unlikely and quite foolish], a flat $60k income would pay $11,557.50, which is 19.3%. A far cry from the 30% Mr. Buffet is try to fool us with.

I suspect Mr. Buffet made sure to count every possible tax for her while excluding those same taxes for himself. Purely to try to make a point. Which, of course, completely obviates his point.

Skeptical, Phoenix, AZ

Warren is correct, yea, we should take people's money and give it to other people, then we can start taking their things and give them to other people that want them and it just continues from there. That is what makes him a democrate. It is not just the billionaires money that the democrates want to take.

Ward P, Charleston, USA/WV

Mr Buffett, let me get this straight you earn $ 46 million and you only pay your secretary $ 60,000. Wow you're cheap paying your staff that little, I assume you pay all your other employees Federal minimum.

Philip D, S Orange, NJ

Anyone who uses the agruement that Buffet is a fat cat and wonders "What's stopping Mr. Buffet and other super-wealthy liberals from donating to charity?" is really showing their ignorance as Warren Buffet has already pledged to give 85% his fortune (around $37billion) to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5115920.stm

John F, Dublin,

Liberals should understand that there is no obligation for a person to help another. Income taxation is simply a liberal's way to force high earners to help low earners by subsidizing their lives. Such compulsory charity is completely unjust, because no one is obligated to lift a finger to help anyone else.

What we need is libertarianism in its purest form, or anarcho-capitalism. A just world would not require anyone to help another, and we'd have a social darwinistic Hobbesian jungle with a ruthless survival-of-the-fittest form of capitalism. Everyone for himself. Ban welfare, social security, medicaid, and all other social welfare programs that constitute redistribution (i.e. forced charity). All taxes should be replaced with user fees for government services, so that people only pay for the resources they USE, and not for what ANYONE ELSE uses. No one gets more from the govtthan they pay for, and no one pays more to the govt than they receive in services. THAT'S justice.

Ben, New York, USA/New York

Hey Warren if you think you need to pay MORE taxes just write out a BIGGER check next time. You can cover my taxes anytime you want. I pay way way too much in taxes and so does your poor secretary.

Instead of sitting around with your wealthy friends pontificating about how so called "rich people" need to pay more taxes think about this............ We all need to PAY LESS taxes and our illustrious government thieves need to STOP voting big pay raises and perfect medical care for themselves while squandering the remainder of the taxes the government steals from its citizenry.

And let the dead rest in peace. They've paid taxes all their life. The government doesn't need to rip into them one last time.

NOW THAT ol' buddy is a concept!

Mary M., Uniontown, OH, USA

If Mr. Buffet was genuine, he would have given additional taxes to the government and not the Gates foundation. Obviously he believes non government agencies are better at taking care of people. Does he deduct any of that contribution as a tax write- off?

He is right on part; "you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 per cent." Let's all think about the 99 percent and not give that job to our government. Our government should worry about national defense, not feeding the hungry.

His secretary earned $60,000 and paid 30 percent? She either needs a new accountant or Mr. Buffet is making intentionally misleading statements. Probably the latter.

Dan, Vienna, VA

I'm getting a little tired of reading about Warren crying about the very system that allowed him to get to the top.
He now wants to change that system without it ever hitting him in his comfortable lifestyle. Many of the super rich are guilt ridden and "feel" better if they profess to be in favor of a socialist style redistribution of wealth, knowing full well that they (their life styles) are not likely to be impacted by any new tax or earnings/salary cap laws.

bernard, Parker, USA

The only fair tax is the flat tax. The rich should pay exactly the same percentage of their income as the poor. Entitlements should be given to no one. Why is this concept so hard to understand?

One of the comments actually suggested that social security is not a tax. Social security is a tax; not a savings plan. Do not be a fool and rely on social security for retirement.

Sing, Columbia, Missouri

Everyone, stop complaining about how much someone else has. If you want more, you have to do the same as many people have - get off your can and figure out how the rich people did it. Most have made their money by getting someone else to do the work, and then taking part of the money that someone pays. Or by finding a product that people need and charing them more than you bought it for.

Wm. J. Korpecki, St. Louis, MO, USA

Well, why not lower the rate at which the secretary is taxed?

Mike Kemp, St. Petersburg, FL USA

Thank you Mr Buffet for giving your fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and NOT the folks running the federal government.

Your voice carries greater weight than my own. Am so happy to hear we are in agreement.

Let's hope 'we the people' wakes up soon. Thanks

S Schmit, Saint Louis,

There is no good way, within the US Based Tax System to make it fair. Rather than taxing income, tax consumption. The "Fair Tax" plan proposed by Congressman John Linder, seems to be the best way to do this. In addition to being equitable for all residents, we can also collect taxes from tourists and illegal aliens,(Gasp, I meant to say Undocumented Workers)

Ken, ALPHARETTA, GA

Why doesn't Buffett just pay the difference voluntarily and set an example for the rest of us.

Bob Ehrlich, Ft Smith, Arkansas

F@%# you Buffett!

Your only paying 17.7% because your money comes from long term Capital gains.

The rest of the Rich are already paying about 50% of their earnings in taxes.

Alex Brown, Los Vegas, NV

Mr. Buffett makes an excellent case for a flat tax. Why didn't he support Steve Forbes for President? Let's see if he campaigns for a flat tax of say 15%. Of course he won't, because he's a hypocrit. Like other Democrat liberals, rich or poor (mostly rich), what they really want to do is to tell us what to do, while they do the opposite.

Mike Ramsey, Plano, TX, USA

Hey Warren,

Do us all a favor and don't put your money in tax shelters. I am sick of the wealthy people and their guilt. WE ALL ARE OVER TAXED.

Ken, Detroit, mi

Take $30 billion and give it to the poor? What a really stupid thing to do! History shows time and again you can't lift someone out of poverty by simply giving him money. Look at the studies of sudden lottery multi-millionaires. Within five years, they are almost always worse off than when they started.

Giving money away can't possibly solve poverty, but Mr. Buffett is certainly welcome to give his away if he desires. Just keep him away from mine.

E. Fix, Dayton, Ohio

well done WARREN BUFFET if you lived in the uk you would
be SIR WARREN BUFFET or LORD BUFFET, you really deserve the title money genius ,but maybe you will make some
of the more wealhy THINK that there is more to humanity
than money if you dont belief me check out miniture world on youtube ,but once again thankyou for the donation to world healh.

george william taylor, hull, uk

This is why we need the "Fair Tax", (read the book) where the present U.S. Income Tax system and the IRS is replaced by a consumption tax of 26% on all NEW items purchased. It would raise the same or even greater amount of money than the current system, and the rich would pay much more than the average person due to greater $$ purchases of goods & services.

The average person & everyone would get an immediate pay increase and everyone would get to choose how much they pay, by the choices one would make.

And yes this is a partisan idea- being supported & co-sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats. The present system is unmanageable, too hard- (you shouldn't have to go to an accountant to decipher a tax code of 1,500 pages), and takes up too much of our lives filling out income tax forms.

Mark M, Kansas City, MO

Wow, what a lot of hissy fits from people who've not bothered to read or understand the article!

I point you to the section "rate of tax that private equity and hedge fund staff pay on their share of the profits, known as carried interest, from the 15 per cent capital gains rate to about 35 per cent"

Mr Buffett's income we can deduce is primarily from the profits of his fund, and hence his tax rate of 17.7% without making any efort to minimise it.

And yes of course he could volunteer to pay more, but that won't resolve the underlying issue of rich men paying a smaller proportion of their income than those on more average salaries do.

The point he makes is that if the going rate is 30% then the rich should be paying it as well. That's not a definition of Socialism!

Mark Price, Manchester, UK

This is a VERY simple way to understand the tax laws.

Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men - the poorest - would pay nothing; the fifth would pay $1, the sixth would pay $3, the seventh $7, the eighth $12, the ninth $18, and the tenth man - the richest - would pay $59.

That's what they decided to do. The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement - until one day, the owner threw them a curve (in tax language a tax cut).

Hm... maybe we should go to a flat tax? Why doesn't congress stop trying to play with tax brackets and just tax everyone the same. Fair? Yes. But that would still mean the poor still get taxes instead of being helped by government hand outs.

Nick, Lynchburg, VA

If he is so concerned with the government getting money from wealthy individuals like himself, why did he and his buddy Bill protect the majority of their money by putting it in foundations? If they left it in their estates, the government could have had a lot more when they die. Now the government doesn't get anything.

Jon, Traverse City, MI

I think the point of this article is that our government does not treat people of different incomes fairly. There is a difference between tax cuts and tax fairness. Tax cuts make you feel good when you get to keep more of your hard-earned money. But the fact still remains that the rich are keeping a larger percentage of their money than the poor. Let the government work on tax fairness first to show that they care about the majority of people and are not leaving them in the dust for their business partners.

Miles, St. Louis, USA

Has anyone read the fair tax book? That would solve all of the problems. One does not pay taxes unless one buys a new item. Provisions are made for all us working class to get prebates (a check each month) for what the fair tax would cost , up to the poverty limit. But you can bet that the politicians in Washington want nothing to do with that because they want ALL your money.

Leo Lo, Decatur, Alabama

Will pretty much all respondents to this article stop for a minute before they jump on their high horses and consider what the man actually said? He said that it is wrong that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. That's it. He didn't call for higher taxes on his own income, nor did he call for lower taxes on his secretary's income. He left that for others to think about and decide on the right balance. As for those he suggested he write a cheque - come on, that is not the point. It would only apply to him, not to all others in his income bracket.

Tim, London,

I don't view seriously much what he says anymore. I have concluded he is starting to suffer from senility in his old age after his decision to give his money to Bill Gates foundation. I promptly sold all Berkshire Hathaway I owned at that point. I use to revere the man, but he has getting more and more flakey every passing year.

Fred, Madison, WI

"With greater power comes greater responsibility."
-Ben Parker (Spiderman's uncle)

I believe this in part. But that doesn't mean that you give more money to a thoroughly corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy like a government. With the advent of mass communications, ideas can be shared and weighed by the whole culture. Now granted, most of us don't have the proper tools to know what is truly best for ourselves or for the group (on a long enough time scale that is). But I believe that there are a few people who walk among us that do. Let those who are "powerful" be accessible by these.

Jason Usborne, Eugene, Oregon

I can only hope that the three comments below by "Americans" are jokes. I hate what is happening to this country -- we've gone, in a matter of only a couple of generations, from a nation willing to sacrifice for and contribute to the "common zeal" to one built on greed. If the comments below are real, these idiots don't even realize that the Republicans have nothing but contempt for them -- everyday people who've swallowed the party line are only a means for the party fat cats to get and keep even more.

Todd, Vienna, VA

It's amazing that someone this ignorant could be so wealthy. According to the 2006 official IRS tax rate schedules, the most a taxpayer with $60,000 in income could possibly pay in tax is 19.26%. If he really wants tax fairness, he should support those Republican candidates who advocate a flat tax. Hey Warren, call Steve Forbes for the facts, that is, if you care about facts.

taxgeek, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

Typical Democrat!
If he feels he is not paying enough then he can always send in more!
Hey Warren, if it bugs you so much, go ahead and send in a couple of extra Billion!!! But keep your damn hand out of my back pocket.
It's always amazing to me! Dems see the Wealthy as "LUCKY"
...never Smart, Productive, Hard working, as if they were walking down the street one day and bam a few million laying at their feet!
It's always struck me a funny how you can have a socialist Billionaire. Don't they realize that socialism and private wealth are mutually exclusive?

Mikie, Phoenix, AZ

Everyone who says Buffett is doing more by donating his money to charity is missing the point. By donating to charity he receives a write-off now (lower income tax rate) and the money he donates drops off his estate. Also, because it's at a charity (non-profit), the money's ability to generate more taxable income in the future is less. He has effectively cut his estate tax in half (even though he's for the estate tax) when he dies. This is another way for him not to pay Uncle Sam, but he wants everyone else to pony up. Nothing new for tax & spend happy liberals.

Rob Jankowski, Kingston, NY

Is he stupid? Punitive taxes will halt any type of growth for the USA. Why is our unemployment rate 3% lower than the EU? Even with the Illegal aliens coming across the border by the truckload our economy is growing because rich people have money to spend since the tax rate is low. Not sure what he was promised to make his remarks, but when you sell your soul to the devil (liberals) you have to live with your actions, don't involve those of us working to get rich.

Then again, maybe he's losing his mind in his old age. The day he goes to a college and pays for a year of tuition for all of it's students I'll believe a word out of his mouth. When he puts up, I'll shut up.

Brian, CR, IA

There is more than one way to equalize the tax rates. How about this: lower the tax rate on the poor - make it match the tax rate of the rich. Problem solved. Everybody pays the same rate. And before the liberals whine about where the money will come from - it's been proven many times that lowering the tax rate raises revenues.

Stephen Daniels, Nashville, TN

It is amazing how many people seem to think their understanding of economics is better than a man who, using merely his intellect, became the third-richest person in the world.

I am certain Berkshire Hathaway will have no problems replacing Mr. Buffet with the more vocal commentators herein.

That should also help you transition to the financially least accountable portion of the population.

Jordan, New York,

Warren is trying to compare earned income taxes to capital gains. He fails to mention that he was already taxed on the original money he invested. I agree with the above post, if Warren wants to pay more then he should cut a check and send it in.

Ryan, Austin, Texas

What Buffet fails to mention is how someone making 60k gets taxed at 30% when the top marginal rate at that income lever if you are single is 25%. If you average it out through the progression it's less than 20%. I think she needs a new accountant. And Warren can always pay her more since it seems he's so ready to give other peoples money away. What a joke.

Ryan, Philadelphia, PA

Buffet doesn't put his money where his mouth is, instead of leaving his multi-billion dollar estate to the state which allowed him to become fabulously wealthy simply by investing, instead he's leaving it to a private foundation which will no doubt use it to advocate higher taxes for secretaries and cleaning ladies.

He didn't recommend lowering the income tax rate to 17% either.

Smitty , West Hills , CA, USA

I don't believe Buffet's premise for one second. Buffet, like the woman he is supporting, is playing slight-of-hand with the truth. If Buffet has sheltered his income so it is not taxed, then it is probably based on tax law that preceeds the Bush administration.

The fact is the Bush tax cuts have kept unemployment low and is a big factor in the rise of the stock market. This has helped Buffet's bottom line, to be sure, but why cry about that? Soaking the rich has never helped the middle class - it usually comes back to bite the middle class - like the alternate minimum tax.

Buffet should run his company and keep his hand out of my pockets!

David Oberholtzer, Springfield, VA

Buffet says: “You could take that $30 billion and give $1,000 to 30 million poor families. Or should you favour the 12,000 estates and make 30 million families pay an extra $1,000?”

Is Buffet saying that this is a zero sum game? From what I was taught in finance 101, taking money from these estates reduces that which is available for productive investment.

Jack Barnett, East Meadow, USA NY

What Mr. Buffet fails to tell you is
the crippling effect increasing taxes would have
upon the "little" millionaires who have successful
small businesses;

The millions of people who work for these small businesses
across the country would be the hardest hit,
with layoffs, less benefits, etc., as small business owners would have to ante up extra money to pay for their increased tax burden;

Ever heard of the old saying, Give a man a fish
(or $1000) and he eats for a day, teach a man how to
fish (or wisely invest his $1000) and he eats for a lifetime?

Steve, Arlington, Tarrant Texas

Warren Buffett and the actions of Congress and the Clinton and Bush administrations have exported all of the good jobs previously held by our middle class to China, Mexico, and elsewhere. Now they want even lower wages here by allowing cheap immigrant labor to drive wages down even more. They even have the gall to tell us it is good for us. I say shut up Buffett.
Give your secretary a raise for putting up with you. Go home and take Hillary with you. Leave us alone. Let us try to make some money too

Donald Miskelly, Ellicott City, Maryland

A Flat tax might solve Mr. Buffetts problem, or to ease his guilt he could pick several hundred struggling "working" families and personally gift them $12,000 a year. The receiving family wouldn't have to pay taxes, of course there isn't any significant tax advantage for Mr. Buffett. Don't look for your checks in the mail anytime soon.

Cindy Saling, Surprise, AZ

what is the point of him getting taxed more. Is there some point to that? If he felt the government was a charitable organization that needed money I think his assesment is absolutely wrong. He should shut up about paying more taxes and be happy that he has the option. As the billionare he has the ability to donate significant monies to charities and leave the gov't bureacracy out of it therefore getting more good done in the world. Government isn't the solution, its usually the problem.

Bevan, Des Moines, IA

"Didn't Mr Buffett arrange to give away 85% of his asset to charity? Thats around $30 BILLION."

Yes he did, this is a common estate planning move among the ultra-wealthy. "Give away" the money to a Foundation (in this case the Gates Foundation) and have your kids, your wife, buddies etc etc serve on the board. As board members they get a salary, expense account, prestige of giving all that money away and, perhaps most importantly, business quid pro quo for helping our someone's "favorite charity."

So...don't saint him just yet

Michael, Houston, Texas

Warren,
If you want to pay more in taxes, please give up all your trusts, foundations and an army of tax advisers you use to hide money from the IRS.
What a hypocrisy. You know that after your passing, the Treasury won't get a dime because all the money will be shielded from taxes through a well-designed scheme of trust and foundations that are tax-proof.

Wojtek, Charlotte, NC

Thank you Mr Buffet for helping raise this critical issue and for showing your concern. To all those who say "there's nothing to stop him paying more", please understand that his point is to highlight the inequality of a system that legitimises the schemes for the rich and super-rich to avoid their responsibility for paying their share. Don't forget that Buffet has previously donated huge amounts of his personal wealth to charity. Unfortunately its all too rare to hear from a man in his position who sees the importance of fairness in our world today.

mike, athens, greece

Warren, if you are so guilt ridden over your wealth, nothing prevents you from voluntarily increasing your tax payments to the Federal government.

Jay, Honolulu,

US tax policy is part of what's known as the American Dream - many make it but the vast majority can only dream about it and are taxed while they dream. Dream on. It's the same dream that leads them to believe that they have the finest fighting force in the world and that they fight for their "values" which are somewhat different values than those held by the rest of the world and the UK in particular.

CRL Child, Ajaccio, Corsica, France

Shouldn't Buffett live by his own stated ideals. If he believes that he should be taxed at, say 70%, what is preventing him from adding to his tax payment an amount that brings his effective rate up to 70%? Lead by example! Anyway, taxes will go up in the U.S., and, as usual, when the politicians claim they are aiming for the rich they'll just hit middle class strivers again. Buffett will keep his billions and the sucker working 80 hours a week to earn 150k will get further pillaged.

Edub, New York,

If you give $1000 to 30 million poor families, in 1 month it will be back in the net worth of Berkshire Hathaway and 30 million poor families will have put $1000 down on a big screen TV.

Warren, if it bothers you so much, just let your consience be your guide and write a check to the gov't for what you think is fair. I'm sure that the bureaucrats can find something to waste it upon.

Fred D., Juliette, GA, USA

It's true that the rich provide a portion of the total tax base that is disproportionate to their percentage of the population.

However, that criticism is disingenuous, or at least incomplete. I don't know if any studies attempt to quantify the amount, but one can safely assume that the rich consume a disproportionate share of public resources. (Not to mention, a disporportionate share of public funds is probably also spent simply maintaining and protecting the assets of the rich.)

Viewed in this light, their contribution to total tax revenues does not seem so unfair, if at all.

S. Ratcliff, Orange County, California, USA

I think the point that Mr Buffett was trying to make was that in comparison, his receptionist is paying more of her income % wise than he was, despite being a lower paid worker - thus her comparative standard of living is poorer because she is left to live on only 70% of a small figure, while Buffett himself is dining well on 82.3% of a much larger amount.

J.A.Lynch, London, UK

I think many US commenters here are under some sort of delusions that they are rich. I'm pretty sure that whatever you make does not fall under the same category of Warren Buffet, and sorry, whatever tax increase Buffet would get, will not effect you. I don't see why you don't want the super-rich to pay their fair share.

I see many suggestions here that Buffet should send in more tax money. Tell you what, if you all feel so badly about the rich paying their fair share if there is a tax increase, you all can start a charity where you can all send in money to help the richest 12,000 families pay their new tax bill.

Claudia, Atlanta, USA

Mr Buffet speaks and votes like one the guilty rich. No wonder he feels guilty .....he only pays his secretary 60,000 ? Why not pay her more? If he thinks he should contribute more to the country why doesnt he?

He can change his behavior but he would rather enact laws to force you to change your behavior. What a hypocrite

BC, Ventura, CA

Mr. Buffet should just pay his fair share if he wants to.

Tax rates should be equal for everyone, You make more you pay more.

The vitriol spewed by those commenting here about rich people, is disturbing.

Losers make less. They work less, they get paid less, or they refuse to get a better education, improve their thinking and think about becoming successful.

It seems that Marxist thinking is still there. take awys money from those who make it and give it to the lazy, because they do not make enough.

bigtruckbuyer, Chicago, IL USA

This is truly incredible. Mr. Buffett should be thanking his lucky stars he lives in the United States of America where he gets to keep a decent chunk of his money. My gosh, if he does not like the tax system, move where he believes it is equitable. He could also live on the same $60,000/yr salary, he pays his secretary and give the remainder to the government. Or...... he could give the remainder to many millions of people, and let them pay taxes with it. There are any number of ways for Mr. Buffet to assuage his guilt. No, as most elitists, he wants the government to take more from other people and give it to others. I would have more respect for the man if he said 'screw you all, I am rich and I have earned it'.

M Robinson, Eastern, CO

Buffet should be audited by the IRS. How is he paying less than half of the 35% tax bracket he's in? His accountants must be getting pretty "creative" in preparing his return. Here's Buffet's statement in a nutshell. "I'm able to get around the intent of the tax laws because I have a team of accountants and lawyers looking for and finding loopholes in the tax laws.....and that's just not fair. Duhhh.

Darren, Atlanta, GA, USA

If Warren would like to donate his money to the government, I'm sure they would gladly take it. When will people understand that giving money to an inefficient government that wastes it on $500 toilet seats and special interest groups is not helping humanity? I know my hard earned money can go to a much better cause than whatever Nancy Pelosi and George Bush decide to do with it.

Scott, Fayetteville,

There are two simple ways for Mr. Buffet to pay higher taxes, if he wants. First, he could send in more money---the US Treasury would accept it!, or second, he could advocate a consumption tax (which some Republicans do, but none of Mr. Buffet's Democrat buddies do).

Quit whining.

Jane Taylor, Oklahoma City, USA, OK

Mr. Buffett encourages the idea of distributing $1,000 to 30 million poor families using revenues generated from the estate tax. Sounds like he is proposing a subsidy to support either the subsistence wage level employees at his own subsidiaries or the victims of offshoring, downsizing, or automation implemented by Berkshire companies. His rhettoric, like that of so many others in positions of wealth and power, smacks of self preservation. I liked it better when he was working with Bill and Melinda Gates to improve education.

Brian S., Sherman Oaks, CA

I'm happy that there are still some rich people with a conscience like Warren Buffett. Why don't we make him president? ha, ha.

This oppressive taxation of the underpaid and poor has been going on too long. We need to do much better in America. In my mind, this cannot be justified by claiming to give incentive to entrepreneurs while exploiting the masses.

C. Birch, Ooltewah, TN

P.S.
I admire the great lip service Mr. Buffett is paying to easing poverty. I'd be elated to hear that he pays his secretary more to begin with, since she probably works harder than he does in helping him to make billions.

C. Birch, Ooltewah, USA

It seems that much of the super-wealthy, like Mr. Buffet, identify with the American Left and Democrats in general. Look at the wealthiest members of Congress and it will become clear to you that the Democrat Party is the party of the hyper-wealthy. What I don't understand is why Mr. Buffet and those like him that advocate higher taxes for the wealthy don't simply pay more of their wealth to the government. Men like Mr. Buffet that advocate a differnt tax system should not take any deductions on their own tax return and voluntarily choose to pay tax on their gross income. I am also fairly sure that the government would accept any donations from these men to help pay down the US debt. In other words, they should put their money where their mouths are.

John Stockmal, Ivyland, PA

taxes should be levied at the same rate for everyone that is to say 30% across the board otherwise you end up with a system that is unfair
the big lie that the rich will invest in jobs for the poor if they paid only half the tax rate of the middle class is a lie and those that believe it are blind deaf and dumb
as with free trade it was suppose to be good for everyone it too is a lie the rich sent the jobs overseas and to mexico
but we still have the bllind deaf and dumb beliving otherwise
there is a revolution coming and the rich because of their actions will not do well in its wake
how does taxing the rich at 17% and the poor at 30%
while the U.S. govt. is in the hole for trillions of $ work
that the democrats want to raise taxes isnt new what is however appaulingly clear is that no matter which party wins the next election America is done for the lobbyists have killed democracy the govt. is against the people and its past due date for a bastille day

dave, montreal, canada

Buffett has a point. Buffett hasn't written a check to the US government because he's already given nearly 99% of his $40 billion away to charity when he dies.

Most rich folk don't give back to those who propped them up. Remember, there's no top of the pyramid without the base.

Of course, our economy is turning more and more as a diamond shaped, enlarging the middle class. This keeps a majority of the population happy.

I much prefer capitalism over socialism since it encourages innovation and hard work. Though, even nowdays we don't exist in true capitalism, just a pseudo-capitalism. If it were true capitalism, there would be no patents to stifle competition.

Jeremy, Iowa,

It's amazing how many people's comments would lead you to believe they are better informed and smarter than Warren Buffet. I think I'll keep my money with him.

Joe, Denver, Co/USA

You've all missed the point; the Treasury will spend hundreds of dollars a year trying to convince you to accept the $28 return you're owed. But this isn't about whether or not Mr Buffett can overpay on his taxes and expect the Treasury to just accept it.

Mr Buffett is probably the second largest philanthropic investor in the world (behind the Gates) in any given year, so I figure his "hypocrisy" lies more in supporting liberal candidates than in his financial activities.

It's about the flaws in the gameable and inequitable Federal Tax Code. Something that, frankly, ought to concern everyone.

I mean, Europe learned from our mistakes (by choosing to instead employ the VAT -- which taxes consumption instead of production), which raises a serious question: why can't we? A VAT is applied to everyone equally, encourages saving and still manages to keep European coffers full.

Clark, Omaha,

Does anyone else see the irony that the backdrop of this discussion is a speech that WB made at a $4,600/person (TAX DEDUCTIBLE) fundraiser for Clinton? According to WB, there were 400 attendees... that's 400 x $4,600 x 33%= $607,000 that got added to the tax burden of ordinary Americans by the Clinton, Buffett, and the other limousine liberals who attended the event.

Billy, Los Angeles, CA

I thought Buffet was smart. Obviously, he doesn't even know tax law or rates. A family making 60K would only pay about 10% in federal taxes at most. Unless, Buffet is adding social security tax and FICA to it.

Dan, Chicago, IL

"From the point of view of contribution to the country, the rich man certainly does more than the average Jane & Joe. "

What an elitist viewpoint. I inherit a few million dollars and never hold a job, but live off the investments and I do more for the country than anyone? Only in my dreams!

There are many rich people who do great good with the money that they have, but there are also plenty that don't do anything except live well. The only reason that they should pay a smaller percentage of what they make is if they had to pay too much in taxes then they could be forced to get a job. There are enough lazy louts in the work place without bringing in a few more.

ken , washington dc, 20009

The rich, making more income, SHOULD have a higher rate of taxes. I personally made just under 8,000.00 last year, I can't afford to go to school, but don't qualify for student aid. It's extremely difficult to try and save anything when every week, 23.2 percent of my earned wages are kept by the government, either for Income tax, of fica. Then, I end up just living paycheck to paycheck, stuck in a dead end job, and if I didnt have a roommate, which I hate having to have, I wouldn't be able to survive.Quite frankly, the rich could afford to have a higher percent of their income withheld from them. Kind of like the astronomical gas prices.

Jason, Webster, TX,

Warren Buffett makes most of his income through investments, which is taxed at a long term rate of 15%, not an income rate of 35%. The richest people in America don't make much in income, they make it all in investments, while the poorest of Americans can afford to invest, so they pay taxes on income, and then sales tax, and then sometimes property tax on top. What we need is a equitable system that taxes capital gains like income, or at least closer than it does now, or the wealth gap will continue to grow.

Money flows in a circle. You earn a wage, and you go out and spend it. When you do that, you give someone else a wage, and they go spend their money where you work, and you get part of it back. But in every transaction, the owners of the business get a cut of the money. If they aren't paying their share, either by paying more in wages, or paying taxes like the rest of us, there is less money at the bottom. Something will redistribute it, either depression, or taxation.

Ian , Nashua, NH

T. C.

Concur!!!

Jeff, Fayetteville, NC

Instead of asserting his 17.7% tax rate is too low, why not declare that everyone else's taxes are too high? Just think how well the economy would perform if all taxes were lowered and equalized, resulting in more people keeping more of their money.

The US federal deficit will contract 40% this year alone because of the booming economy and all the capital gains taxes being collected from 'the rich'. He's right, it is unfair, but his solution is just the opposite of what should be done to insure further growth.

James Drake, Williamsburg, Virginia

In response to the "two words" above, here's two more: "VOLUNTARY TAXATION" it worked quite well before and compulsory taxation was created only for supporting temporary demands for military protection of OUR nation.

Also, in case you all missed all of your political classes in elementary, middle, and high school: The USA is not and has never been "A DEMOCRACY" It's a democratic republic. The founders knew that a democracy would always fail when a majority of it's citizens learned that they could vote themselves more money from the public treasury. Hmm... Minimum wage, social security, welfare... So much for for "to the REPUBLIC for which it stands".

In case you all caught the comment advocating SOCIALISM as the answer, perhaps you should figure out what socialism is and it's similarities to COMMUNISM. Socialism is forcing everyone to work for the "public good". Such a good does not exist. Who is "PUBLIC"? Individuals. Socialism is only good for the dictatorial leaders.

EllisWyatt, Lehi, UT/USA

I've been reading some great comments here... it seems most people opposed to Mr. Buffett's views are content to attack his personage, rather than debate the actual issue he raises, and offer solutions or counter-arguments. Are these people really so jaded as to believe that it is everyone's God-given right to promote self at the expense of all others?

oh, right... there's some convoluted logic that says those with fortune are the ones best able to handle it. that somehow higher taxes will stifle the economy. please.

i'm a person of faith, and one of the central tenants taught by Christ was the elevation of community and common good over oneself. is this concept lost on today's believers?

i'm not against anyone being wealthy... i'm just against the wealthy being treated differently in our TAX CODE and LEGAL SYSTEM, as if somehow they are better human beings than we are. if we promote equality and democracy among humanity, the least we can do is support the same notion in our economic system. either flat tax, or consumption/use based tax - eliminate the loopholes and incentives that create inherent inequality and distrust within our economic system.

Aron J., Pelkie, Michigan

Isn't this a great argument for a flat tax? Anyone who exceeds a certain level of earnings (say $30K) - be it from work, trust, investment, or other means - you get taxed 20% to the federal government. Everyone would then be paying their fair share.

Dave, Palm City, FL

So why doesn't he support the Fair Tax?

T. C, Moore, Raleigh, NC

They could solve this problem by getting rid of government spending, but Im sure that will not be an idea that will be brought into the forum espically in the democrat party debates.

Jack Sprack, Up the candle stick, ny

Why does that cheapskate only pay his secretary $60,000 a year??

Al, Fairfax, VA,

The Fair Tax is the answer. Check it out: www.fairtax.org , It makes so much sense for everyone.
And I'll be voting for the candidate that can prove he will cut government and spend the least, because large government is never the answer. Large government can do nothing right, especially in trying to help the needy. I think that's why Mr. Buffett gave his money to the Gates Foundation and not the government, because he knew smart people would be doing good things with it and not huge bureaucracy doing nothing or bad things with it.

Tim, Calabasas, CA

Have everyone pay a flat tax of 10% of their income.
That would be fair! Right?

john, tempe, az

Perhaps if the secretary is going to pay a 30% tax rate on his/her wages, then it seems logical that another taxpayer ought to be paying 30% on his hard-earned dividends and capital gains.

Dennis, Lombard, Illinois

Regardless of what Warren Buffett thinks about taxes or any aspect of taxes, it is stil eminently unfair to turn death into a taxable event. One should only have to pay taxes on income one time whether your name is Jones or Buffett. The Founding Fathers did not envision a man paying such a substantial part of his labor to a central government.

JLM, Austin, Texas USA

It is foolish greed like this that put Chavez in power.

Scott, Austin,

I have trouble fathoming the idea that some people actually believe Warren Buffett is a hypocrite and doesn't know what he's talking about. The man is a national treasure whose counsel is held in the highest regard.

Ben, Omaha,

This story is as old as humanity itself....there is only one solution....take the power back!!!!!

Wolfy Smith, Tooting, UK

Buffett is free to donate any extra to me and I'll pay tax on it at my current rate.

simon, tacoma, wa

Let's put things in another perspective. Mr. Buffett is a multi-billionaire over and over again.

His secretary makes $60,000 a year.

If he was really so concered with giving away money, why not give her a pay raise???

Glen, Las Cruces, NM

The problem is not Buffett's 17.7% tax rate--it's his secretary's 30% tax rate.

Raising taxes on the wealthy is not the answer--cutting taxes on the middle class and the poor is the path to tax fairness.

Tom Giovanetti, Dallas, Texas USA

I earn not much more than uk minimum wage. Over a third of my income goes in tax before i have anything to spend. If vat (sales tax), car insurance and terrible housing costs are then taken into consideration there is no way I could afford to raise a family.

John, uk,

Donald from Texas needs to be aware that Social Security ("something we get back") is considered income that we pay taxes on! How's that for getting it back?

Michael, Jacksonville,

To Randy in Brooklyn, NY, the British are not French and our royal family pay taxes.

Rachel, london, UK

I've never understood the rationale fo people who think they don't pay enough in taxes. It's a very easy thing to simply pay more than required.

Why do they think the rest of us should be compelled to do what they want to do...and CAN DO if they really want to?

David Young, Sandy, USA/UT

Mr Buffett is quite correct.Glad to hear he will vote with his pen as well as his feet. Good on yuh. Huge respect !!!

Edwin, London, UK.

Its all about percentage. And buffet is right. Its hard to get ahead in life when you dont have any money to invest because you pay it all in taxes.

Jeff Bloomberg, Cancun, Mexico

You do not get taxed at 35% if you make 60k/year. He is lying or stupid. If in the worst case scenario, filing single with no depandants, she would only pay 25% from 31,500 to 60K with lower marginal rates on the money less than that. If he wants to include SS taxes than he is not being genuous. Maybe he wants to pay SS taxes on his 46mil for the year. Still, apples and oranges.

john, fairfax, us/va

Two words: FLAT TAX.

John Adams, sixefeeteunduh, Fl

And this from a rich man that gave nothing to any of his own kids and gave it all to the bill gates foundation. He has no room to talk.

Frank, tampa, FL

Warren Buffett admirable point, however with your net worth at 64 Billion dollars why are u paying your secretary only $60,000 a year. What a cheapo.

Brian Gmelin, Redding,

So many chilidish comments on this thread. Buffet is making a serious argument about the impact of wealth disparities on our democracy. Writing a check for the difference and sending it to the treasury isn't going to fix that.

Nick, Washington, DC,

The federal taxes on $60K for a single person with no deductions would only be $9236 which is 15.39% not 30% as indicated by Mr. Buffett's comment. It is urresponsible for someone of his importance to make such an incorrect statement that has the potential to polorize our country further aginst a tax law that is already targeting high income earners. I also doubt that Mr. Buffet only paid a 17% tax on $46 million in earnings as the Alternative Minimum tax would tend to keep his taxes at 28%

Joe Abramson, West Palm Beach , Florida

Warren is right on. We shouldn't have rich or poor in this world. Everyone should be poor, and the government should consume 90% of GDP through taxation. World Socialism is the key to happiness. If no one has anything, you can't be jealous.

Jerhad, San Francisco, CA

A secretary earning $60,000 a year would not pay a tax rate of 30%: not even close as her average federal tax would be below 20%. He made it up to try to make his ridiculous, Marxian point. He's an ignoramous but a dangerous one.

m philip manning , las, vegas, nv

Mr. Buffet urges a higher tax so that the government will have more revenue to accomplish its self-proclaimed good works rather than let taxpayers make their own decisions. Yet he has created a gigantic tax-exempt foundation allowing him to avoid taxes and direct the savings to causes of his own choosing. He's says he's "not trying to avoid paying higher taxes." In a pig's eye.

Will he advocate taxing the gains and undistributed income of his foundation? In the pig's other eye.

Virginian, Norfolk, Virginia USA

The issue is not why his rate is low, but why his secretary's rate is so high!
I wonder why it is not presented as such?

Pete, Tucson,

Buffett will be able to sell more INSURANCE if the estate taxes are raised. That is his true agenda, he is an insurance man. Nobody is stopping him from over paying his taxes either. So pay up Warren or shut up.

Rich, Louisville, CO

Oh? And where's the law that impedes them from paying higher taxes, or giving more than their due to a favourite cause? Do you need a law, Mr. Buffet. to tell you and the other fat cats where to do good with that money that overburdens you? Well if you and the others are at a "loss" as to where it can do good, give it to me. I'll do much better than your government. Then you can rest assured.

Eugene, Heidelberg, germany

Buffett says he is for the "inheritance tax", as is Bill Gates of Microsoft, yet they have tied their fortunes up in trusts which completely avoid the inheritance tax. Buffett is for higher taxes, yet he induced the Congress to exempt his insurance companies from liablity in cases of terrorism; all losses to Buffett will be indemnified by the US government (ie. US tax payer). Lower capital gains rates have always generated more income to the US treasury by increased activity (as they have now). Buffett could "donate" his money at an increased rate if he is really bothered by it. In other words, he is a big wind bag phony.

Tony Francis, Wichita, KS/USA

Silly people--No you can't just pay the IRS any amount you want . You pay too much and they will send it back to you. It's happened to me twice and one of the payments was for several thousand too much. The IRS does work in a relatively organized fashion.

F.D., Alex., VA

Percentages mean nothing, Buffet pays 17.7 percent of 46 million dollars or 8.14 million, it would take a lot of secretary and cleaning ladies to equal that. If he is bothered by this problem as he calls it, he can stroke out a check to the IRS for half a Billion every year and not miss it. But to think that the government is entitled to take more is both absurd and dangerous.

TOZ, Gilbert, AZ

Buffett shouldn't be trying to prevent people from creating wealth the same way he did. He doesn't have to pay anymore taxes on the 52B right? I guess he can afford to have liberal guilt.

JD, Portland,

Anyone heralding Mr. Buffett's $30bln donation to charity seems to be missing that that money is now exempted from the taxes he seems to cry about underpaying. I don't envy his billions and I hope to be able to reach that status one day, but his proposed policies would be deleterious to the ambitions of many who wish to emulate him.

phil, conway, ar

If Warren feels bad about this he can volunarily pay more into the government as a contribution to reduce the national debt to increase his tax load to 39% of income. Those that think they should pay more taxes are always welcome to do so on their own freewill. Obviously they do not feel that strongly about it as I have not heard of any voluntary payments.

Christian, Madeira, OH

Well Said Mr Buffett.

Shame so many of your countrymen obviosuly resent the notion of paying a fair share.

Mark, Manchester, UK

Dear nearly everyone,

Warren Buffett announced a few months ago that almost all of his fortune will be going to the Gates Foundation and other charities when he retires. Try reading the news before you castigate him.

The biggest charitable donation in history - do you still think he's a hypocrite?

David Harrison, Manchester, UK

Another "DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I'VE DONE."

After a life-long career accumulating and enjoying massive wealth while avoiding the tax-man - the 'Oracle of Omaha' now claims to have seen the light of tax morality.

I wonder if Buffet will also consider how much CO2 his jet spews and foreign oil he burns on his way home to Nebraska from speaking to the NY Clinton fund raiser (Buffet's company owns NetJets - the fleet of private jets for the super-wealthy)...

Now ask yourself; Do you think Buffet's peculiar remarks are an indicator to 'Buy,' 'SELL' or 'Hold' his Berkshire Hathaway shares!

A. S. Rose, Minneapolis, MN USA

While I can understand the income disparity in this country, and how it will lead to growing social problems, how is taking money from the rich and just handing it to the poor going to solve the problem? Does Buffett even address the problem of government overspending (and overtaxation)?

I have to agree with the commentators that say that anybody who feels guilty about being so wealthy should just write a check to the government, if they really think the government is going to be so smart with the money.

Buffett is a great investor but I don't think he ought to be a social engineer - or anybody else for that matter.

Susan, Redondo Beach, CA

If he is so concern about the inequity, maybe he should pay his secretary more than a lousy $60K.

John, New York City,

Warren - You can pay more. There is no law that says you can't pay more.

Mike, Tea, SD

How did Buffett make all that money with his cockamamie lefty view of the world? I agree that the super rich don't pay enough taxes because they can afford the lawyers and accountants they need to wade through the tax code. Unfortunately, all the prescriptions that Buffett seems to favor end up hitting working people like me. Is he that naive, or just another Dem partisan?

Mike Nemesi, Cary, NC

I think if I read one more post calling on Mr. Buffett to donate to charity if he's so upset about disparity, I might DIE from laughing.

To quote the Geico cavemen: "How 'bout next time do a little research?"

Lily, Hampden, Maine

Why would Buffett, or anyone else with any sense, choose the government and taxation as the venue for redistributing wealth? If he wants to help the poor he should invest his money where it will do the most good in his opinion. Tax dollars are squandered dollars.

Joe, Cambridge, NY

Maybe if we didnot have politicians who don't care how they spend our money, we would not have to pay all these taxes.

Tony G, Brooklyn, NY usa

This is why we need to pass the Fair Tax or (consumption tax), We can not continue making changes to a broken system. The same arguement Mr. Buffet uses is also why many family farms had to be broken up and sold.

bryon, norhglenn, CO

YUP! That's where the saying comes from " the rich get richer while the poor get poorer".

Cindy, Kingwood, Tx

The guy is woth $50 B and makes $46 million this year and he pays his secretary $60k? And he bitches about Republicans not wanting to redistribute the wealth? BWAAAHAAA!

David, Dallas, tx

The answer Mr. Buffet is quite simply the FAIRTAX which is a 23% consumption tax on purchases of new goods or services. Oh I forgot to mention that the repeal of the 16th amendment is a necessary part of the legislation HR25. Without the IRS and without federal income tax most of your concerns will be alleviated. Your secretary will get all of her $60,000 to spend.
There is more good news but I challenge you to look at www.fairtax.org to see the rest.

John Pierce, GREENSBORO , North Carolina

Why should anyone pay a penny more than anyone in taxes? While I don't support a truly flat tax (i.e., a direct per capita tax) today, I would under a certain set of contstraints. It seems like everyone assumes that a flat percentage of income is the baseline, and taxes can only get more progressive from there.

What if the only fuction provided by government were national defense, and what if everyone had the income/wealth to purchase the basic necessities for survival? Wouldn't the "fairest" tax be a flat amount per person, regardless of income?

Steve, grand rapids, MI

I think a man who made 46 million last should be ashamed to pay his secretary 60k a year. That is the real problem in the country, the disparity of earnings....Cut the ceo salaries and pay the middle managers and lower more money, then have a flat tax....what is fairer than that?

michael, wintergreen, va

Is Mr. Buffett aware that he can write a check to the government above what is required? If he feels it is important that his tax rate is increased it is completely within his power.

Mr. Buffett I challenge you to put your money where your mouth is. Write a check today to cover the difference between 17.7% and 30% and ask that it go to reducing the debt of the nation.

If everyone who feels the same way as you does this the national debt will be greatly decreased.

Mike, Diamond Bar, Ca

The whole fetid mess of taxing people on their income--ie. their hard work, creativity, savings, and effort, is obscene. Tax consumption! With variable rates for different classes of consumables. Food-0. Medical care-0. Housing--to a point-0. Clothing-0. All other purchases of choice-from 20% to 100% (the expensive cars, yachts, jewelry, junkets, etc of the affluent.)

T Comella, Naples, Florida

What a hypocrite! If Mr. B thinks the government isn't getting its fair share from him, why doesn't he reverse the Gates Foundation gift and give the money straight to Uncle Sam? Lay out your estate plan, Mr. B, and let the people see how little you've tried to reduce your tax bills.

Bill Friedrichsen, Fort Collins,

The flat tax is essentially no easier to administer than a tax with progressive rates. The complexity arises in determining what taxable income is. So tax simplification can go hand in hand with having progressive tax rates, which is what Buffett is driving at. To all the flat tax proponents: I can't wait to see you lining up to give back your home mortgage interest deductions.

JG Dix, NYC, NY

Oh Warren Buffet paying all his yearly earnings won't mean anything, he's asking for societal reform and using his case as a glaring example of the systems flaws. 46 million doesn't mean squat to the national economy, he's trying to make an actual difference, not a meaningless display of self-sacrifice.

rob, pine bluff,

Republicans are more likely to think: “I’m making $80 million a year – God must have intended me to have a lower tax rate.”
Nonsense. I take a real great offense at that silly statement.

Even the title of the article is off. Why not say "Buffett blasts system that lets him pay less tax RATE than secretary". The entire article (speech) is filled with the same word play which completely masks the real debate. Too bad. I had rather liked Buffett, but now I question him deeply.

Chris , Hampstead, USA/NC

I make a very good salary. I am rich by many standards. But I have worked very, very hard for my success. I find two things interesting,extremely wealthy people like Mr. Buffet, who, if they wanted to couldn't spend all their money, are the ones tellling me I am not paying my fair share. Also, every liberal's solution to their perceived problems involve my money. Well here's a novel idea...treat EVERY American the same. According to the government we can not discriminate in any way. Period. Then why are they allowed to discriminate for taxation purposes. I am so sick of liberals.

Eric, Atlanta, Georgia

Buffett is a hypocrite - to avoid estate taxes he has given the bulk of his to the charity run by Bill Gates. That's a giant tax bill that will go missing. Plus he more than likely employs an army of tax attornies and CPA's to lessen his % of taxes paid. Something his housekeeper etc. cannot afford.

Ritzman, San Diego, USA/CA

MISQUOTE: Buffett was talking about the "400 of us" in the Forbes Magazine list - NOT the people at the fundraiser event.

The journalist added "[here]" erroneously.

Matt, Raleigh,

There is no restriction or law against Mr Buffett paying 40% on HIS $46 million income last year. I am wondering if he's ever thought about that?
Of course, he might respond w/ examples of his philanthopic donations. But I would then point out he is allowed to direct that resource to the causes he chooses to support, and is not required to pay that to a wasteful, bloated system that seems to be hopelessly ineffective at solving problems. This same system allows him to attend $4600 a plate dinners.
Also, it sounds to me like his secretary needs a raise!

J Gonn, dallas, texas

Hmm Warren Buffet is against the repeal of the Death Tax, and then he goes and commits to donating his whole fortune $50 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation(also against the repeal of the DEATH TAX), so he wouldn't being paying the tax after his death anyway...

Unflippin real

But a guy who builds a decent family business will have to sell it or his children will have to give 60% to the Federal Gov't... yea that is fair...HYPOCRIT

Paul , Bay Shore, NY

Damned conservative parrots. Must all be getting their talking points from the same trash bin. How many times do I have to read "All Mr. Buffett has to do is write a check to the U.S. Treasury."
You Republitards are so transparent, you are like plastic wrap. I don't have to listen to Limbaugh and Hannity... I can just have morons like you rehash it for me.

Lee, St. Louis, Missouri

To the commenters on here who say, "Let Buffet pay out of his own wealth- just don't touch mine", you have made his argument for him. This profound greed is precisely why the tax laws must be changed.

Newt Gingrinch, Soldotna,

Having read some of the comments - rich Americans, at least don't want to pay for their privileged position. Strange that.

Michael Hatton, Stoke on Trent, UK

The bottomline:

How did the rich get rich in USA during last 30 years? Through federal deficit spending!! US Government ran up credit card bills worth few tens of trillion dollars and gave most of the proceed to the rich, well connected, and powerful. Corporate CEO's and Wall Street financier types.

In about 10 years, when the bills come due, do you think the poor are able to pay them? Heck no!! Either the rich step up and pay the bill or we will not have the USA as we know today. The taxes for the rich and super rich HAVE to go up, period.

It is either that or USA will turn into a Venezuela.

John , Los Angeles, CA

It doesn't create jobs and wealth when all the richest do is horde it -- which is the current situation. Trickle down economics only works when people are spending the money they acquire. It's been shown repeatedly that this doesn't happen -- instead, money collects more money removing assets from the greater pool. This is why the rich are getting richer and everyone else is getting poorer. In the America, the middle-class, which is what keeps the country stable, is disappearing. When it does finally go ... you'll see increased riots and violence.

jayntampa, Tampa, FL

The wealthy do have the means to hire tax lawyers and accountants who figure out all kinds of creative ways to pay less taxes. The middle class and working poor don't have this luxury.

Solution: FLAT TAX. Cut out all the loop holes & simplify the tax code so a 10 year old can understand it.

Jan, Richmond, VA

After reading this article, I plan to write to many legislators to repeal all the tax cuts implemented by Bush's administration. Bush has been for the rich at the expense of the poor. To the people who advocate "free markets." Don't make me laugh. We don't have free markets in the United States. We have a minority controlling the wealth in this country and if you are not aware of that, I suggest you become more educated.

Karen Nulen, Glendale, CA

Mr. Buffett is counting the tax he paid directly on the income he got from investments, but he is NOT counting the taxes paid by those companies in which he has invested. If those taxes are attributed to him on a per share basis, along with the taxable corporate income upon which those taxes are based, then Mr. Buffett's rate would be higher than his cleaner's. And he knows it. I guess he thinks that he will make up the losses from higher taxes under Hillary by getting special favors from her administration, or a more generally beneficial (for him) hobbling of potential competitors. After all, it's easier to buy up companies if other potential buyers, who don't have his $46 billion, are whacked with higher taxes.

David Herr, Richmond, USA/California

Well Warren is wrong with his figures, remarkably his secretary pays about 14% not 30%. Take 60000 minus 5150 Std deduction, then minus 3400 personal deduction, which gives her taxable income of 51450, the tax is a little over 8K, which is about 14% of her income. Warren is completely wrong!!! If you throw in the secretary's Social Security tax and Nebraska income tax then the total is about 27%. But we shouldn't use Social Security in this ploy because you are taxed on the first 90 some thousand, Mr Buffett is good with investments...but he embarress himself with this tax logic.

Ward , Lakenheath, UK

The comments here indicate most people find the taxation is fair for the wealthy and poor, even though the poor have more to lose. A poor person paying 5% in taxes still gets a harder impact than a wealthy person paying 50%. So the only solution to please wealthy people is to completely eliminate taxes for everybody, rich and poor.

Daniel, OVerland Park, Kansas, USA

Thanks to James in St Louis and John in Brooklyn for restoring my faith in Americans a little . The response from the majority of Americans here highlights what is wrong with their out and out capitalist model . All it does over time is create a bigger gap between the extremely rich few and the increasingly poor majority . History tells us that this is not sustainable .

Incentives to work hard are to earn more money and not to pay proportionally less tax than the poor .... Spongers !!!!!!!!!!!

Benzo, Nr Chelmsford,

Mr. Buffet decries the very system he used to lessen his own estate tax bill. By giving a portion of his estate to charity he took advantage of the current tax structure . It seems to me that if Mr. Buffet feels so strongly, he would have his entire estate subject to the estate taxes. I challenge him to put his own money where his mouth is. Why not leave your entire fortune to one of the worst runs businesses in the world: The US governemnt! I wish Mr Buffet would keep his mouth and opinions off my wallet.

Nate Brandon, Nashville, TN

When I was a child, my grandparent's death netted my folks a relatively large yet non-liquid inheritance...To pay the approximately 50% liability incurred, we had to choose between selling our home, or our business. The secondary taxation on my family's property, which had been earned and taxed already, resulted in my living in a motel for 6 weeks while we found a home.

David, Los Angeles, California

Instead of RAISIING taxes of the wealthy - why don't we DECREASE taxes on the average American? All that Buffet is doing is making an arguement for ether the Fair Tax (consumption based) or a flat tax (income based) and a simplified tax code. He is NOT making a valid argument for INCREASED TAXES RATES on the wealthy. As we have learned from the record revenues that the 2003 tax rate decreases encouraged, lowering tax rates INCREASES revenues and encourages the kind of economic rising tide that lifts all boats.

Roscoe, Cleveland, Ohio

Although I agree with many of your statements I feel that Mr. Buffet does strike a few good points of interest. 1st, even if Mr. Buffet paid $200K in taxes as one reader suggested, that amount accounts for so little money to this man. When you look at a normal hardworking person such as myself...only making 60-70K a year, I see $1600/month being taken out for taxes... when you live pay check to pay check that $1600 is roughly 1/3 of the money I make! How much more could I do for myself and my family if I only had that money. If you taxed Mr. Buffet at 90% he would still have 4.6 million dollars to play with... So is our current system fair to the hardworking average American? I think not! The Only fair solution is a flat tax, or national sales tax. While your at it, get rid of all the war spending, usless social programs, and big government, and we wouldn't need so much money in taxes anyways!

Jason Keller, San Diego, CA

The fact is, he is right about the disparity in income tax rates. There should be ZERO loopholes and tax 'credits' in the internal revenue code.3 rates, with the highest starting at incomes $500k and above.
Of course, people like Buffett will argue for 'special' dispensation for certain groups.
Ask yourself, if he feels so bad about it, he should get out his checkbook and write a big check to the USG, or, to his favorite poor friends.Gee, after all, he is worth $50 billion +.

j house, Alpharetta, GA

Mr Buffet is wrong. There is no way his secretary paid 30% tax on 60k ; it was probably less than 15%. He is also a hypocrite. If he feels guilty about not paying enough tax there is nothing to prevent him from cutting a check to the US Treasury. In addition the money he leaves when he dies will not be taxed because he set up a foundation. He's a typical liberal, the rules don't apply to him, he wants the rest of us to foot the bills.

Geo, kent, wa

By my calculations he paid 8.1 million in taxes, and his secretary paid 18,000 in taxes. I would rather pay her bill. Only a bleeding heart liberal would calculate that as paying less than his secretary.

Brad, Edgeley, ND

He doesn't pay less tax though does he?
He pays less as a relative amount of his income, but probably tens of thousands times more in absolute terms.

Joe, London,

Buffett is right. I know that people and companies need to make money, but Lord, how much do you need?
And greed sets in.

Kevin O'Neill, titusville, FL/USA

I doubt if the IRS would be too pissed off at Buffett if he wrote them a check for an extra billion, if he feels that way!!!

Bill Mathews, Jacksonville, Florida

Those are fictional tax rates. Here are the real ones http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=150856,00.html If Mr. Buffest is paying 17.7 he's playing some games. If his sec is paying 30 she's due a refund. By the way, why does his sec make only 60K? What a cheapskate!

RB, NYC,

If you’re in the luckiest 1 per cent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 per cent"

So because I have the skill, talent, and drive to make money. I there for have to pay for everyone else's meal. Well thankfully this is the United States and if you truely are feeling such guilt, then please write the IRS a check. They will gladdly take your money.

David, Slidell, Louisiana

If Warren believes so much in the US Government he should give all his money to the US Treasury and NOT the Gates Foundation. He is doing that because he knows the Gates Foundations will be more efficient than the US Government and at the same time he will avoid estate taxes. He is an incredible business man but he is not shooting straight on this issue. Still a good stock.

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/compab.html

He knows how to make money.

J, Raleigh, NC

Please remember that the US Congress typically raises taxes in earned income as a solution ... that always screws the little guy trying to build wealth. Buffet (and his ilk) can voluntarily send EXTRA funds to the government as an "investment" ... but they will not without some give back.

The American Revolution was fought over tax rates nearly 10 times lower than our current confiscatory system

cato, jamestown, USA

Warren Buffet is not being honest here. If his secretary is single & earned $60,000 and had no children, her average federal tax rate in 2006 was 11.6%, assuming she didn't itemize. (If she had kids her rate would be lower. If she were married it would be lower still unless her husband had substantial income). Her highest marginal rate was 25%. The 30% figure was fabricated (for dramatic effect, I'm sure). But then, no one will call Warren on it because he's the "Oracle of Omaha" or some such nonsense.

It's fine to argue about tax fairness, but if you're going to do so, please don't lie about it!

Roger Cunningham, Longwood, USA/Florida

I agree with Buffet in general -- Bush's so-called "tax cuts" for the upper 10% will be a disaster for the economy (the cookie is just starting to crumble), and yes, Buffet could easily pay more in taxes if he chose to. That's not the point however, a "voluntary" tax increase (or tax-cut rollback) wouldn't work.

Still I'm shocked that Buffet has the gall to admit he made so much, yet only pays his secretary $60,000 a year. Kids out of college make more than that in high-tech Microsoft-y jobs...

Rob, Seattle,

Well,I have recently received a report from SSA here in the US and my total tax rate is 7.4%,taking into account 6% for the IRS and 1.4% for medicaid.The 35% mentioned for the cleaning lady occurs as you spend and consume,primarily taxes on energy and communications.Here in the US,the scuttlebut is that the trigger rate is 60%.We're not there yet.

JeffW, Fernandina, Fl.USA

After reading many of the comments already posted I have to say that I'm struck by two things. First, it's obvious that most of the responders are functionally illiterate. Mr Buffet is saying that as a percentage of personal income he pays less than his secretary (17% vs 35%) and that he considers it unfair. Secondly, I can not believe how many poor people (I assume most responders are not in the 1% richest in the world (and if you are not then believe me you are poor)) come out in support of the rich. You wannabe-riches are a danger to the world.

Jim, Cherry Valley, Massachusetts

If Warren Buffett is so concerned for his poorly paid secretary, I have a suggestion. Why not pay her $500,000 for her work? He is as most CEOs/Presidents of large corporations, the executive secretary does the WORK and the boss [male or female] gets the credit.
He is a bluff, as many writers have suggested. Also a braggart!

James A. Glasscock, Shamrock, Texas

mr. buffet,

if you are suggesting the cleaning lady's rate is too high then the government would have to cut alot of spending to reduce the effective tax rate on middle income america to 17%. in this case i would suggest you support ron paul for presient and not hillary clinton.

if you are suggesting your rate is too low then we could discuss a 50-100% tax provision on all gross incomes over say five million dollars. that provision would be assessed at the individual and all other legal entities.

michael, alexandria, va

If Mr. Buffet thinks he should be paying more tax because "it's the right thing to do" he should step up and do it. Not just tell us what we should do. Step up Buffet, pay what you think is right. Give your secretary a raise, help her find a better accountant, then I'll listen to what you have to say with more of an open mind.

Tedd, Provo, UT

Buffett can quite easily indulge his holier-than-thou pontification if he wants. There are provisions in the US tax code to gift extra tax to the government beyond what one is assessed as owing. Given that the top 1% of taxpayers, who collectively earn 19% of income, pay 37% of taxes whereas the bottom 50% pay just 3.3%, it is hard to say how the rich aren't paying enough.

David Gillies, San Jose, Costa Rica

I favor what is known as the "Fair Tax". It replaces the Income Tax entirely with a federal sales tax. That way, fat cats like Buffet who spend more, pay more. Those who have less, spend less, and therefore pay less. And it doesn't require a buttload of paperwork and terrible stress that April 15th currently invokes in the rest of us. Generally, under the Fair Tax system, NO PAPERWORK is required!

Jon R, Fenton, MI

Though the article brings up some interesting issues, I find the comments even more deserving a response. It's very convenient for all of you to attack Buffet's personal tax rate rather than confront the point of the article that the super wealthy are unfairly taxed. But I guess simplistic, catty arguments are the crutch of the modern conservative movement aren’t they? Can any of you actually throw an argument out there as to why the super wealthy should be taxed at a lower rate?

J., washington, dc

The more money you make, the more you can spend on accountants and tax attorneys to help you avoid paying taxes on it. The one thing wealthy people hate doing is paying taxes. I think there should be a flat 5% tax on gross income of anyone making over $500K . The gross income cannot be protected by tax avoidance strategies so the wealthy will have to pay. This money can be used to lower the tax rates on the rest of us.

Eric Berg, Dallas, Texas

If you can't see the difference in an actual dollar amount paid and a percentage amount paid, then keep on voting Republican. There are millions with no food, heat, or health insurance yet there are those who see things as fine today. The funny but sad reality is how many feel our tax system is fine, yet they are the ones who would benefit from the changes Mr Buffett is proposing. The demographic make up of the Republican party has huge numbers of middle and lower class voters, yet they just keep putting the rich and corrupt back in office. The blind leading the blind.

Don Murray, Cabo San Lucas,

Actually, many of your are idiots. If you 'overpay' your taxes the government will actually send you back money WITH interest, as has happened to me in the past. Maybe many of you don't actually know much about taxes to understand what Mr Buffett is talking about. His secretary making $60k doesn't have all the tax breaks and loopholes that are afforded to the more wealthy. Part of it could be as simple as things like owning a home. Many of the lower income don't thus they don't get to take mortgage interest off and they don't get to itemize to lower their taxes. AND do many of you idiots not think Buffett doles out huge money to charity every year. You might want to learn a little more about him.

Torry, Dallas, TX,

There is no doubt that the rich pay way more in total taxes than the lower and middle classes, AND THAT'S EXACTLY HOW IT SHOULD BE! The reality is the schmoe trying to make ends meet for his family with $60,000 per year is impacted much harder by having to pay 30% ($18,000) than Mr. Buffet earning $46,000,000 and paying 17.7% ($8,142,000). Let's see, Mr. Schmoe gets by on $42,000 net and Mr. Buffet mus struggle through the year with a mere $37,850,000, yes, very fair.

Kudos to you Mr. Buffet for admitting the system is BACKASSWARDS.

C. Henson, Huntington Beach, CA

Do we need to pay more taxes as high income earners or do the others need to pay less? Sales tax is my choice along with the governments at all levels being better stewards of our money. I cannot feel good about paying more taxes until the waste is stopped. I will continue to look for for every legal advantage available to lessen my tax liability.

Jerry , Wynne, Arkansas

The guy invests wisely, and he probably earns most of it through qualified dividends, taxed at 15% right now. Some could be from munis, but who really knows. I am a tax consultant and CPA; there is NO way a cleaning lady had an effective rate higher than buffet. NO WAY. WHat a bunch of rubbish. Even if his effective rate were higher, he still pays WAY more tax into the system. Buffet, why don't you park you monies in investments that will yield more tax? Please stop decrying a system that already forces the upper 10% to pay nearly 90% of the tax. Perhaps the USSC will rule on munis soon. Maybe they will say it is unconstituional for you home state to not tax bonds within the state. Then, one of the tax havens would be done away with. Then local governments would suffer when no one would buy their bonds. That would be great, huh Warren?

Ric, Duluth, GA/USA

Warren is right the tax system is unfair and ineffective. The fix is simple. The FAIRTAX is a 23% national sales tax that EVERYONE pays, you buy more you pay more tax. With EVERYBODY paying, that means illegal ailens pay, tourists from other countries pay. Additionally, everything you currently buy has approximmately 22% of inbedded tax, because companies don't actually pay taxes they just pass them along to the consumer. When the FAIRTAX is implemented the net result would be a reduction in cost of consumer items by 22% and with the 23% tax, the item would only be 1% more expensive. The real benefit though is NO IRS, NO INCOME TAX, NO DEATH TAX, NO CAPITAL GAINS TAX, just a sales tax with no loop holes. You would take home 100% of your income. The current tax system is so complicated no one can truly undertand it. The FAIRTAX is simple and fair.

Steven Thompson, Martinez, GA

Mr Buffet last year pledged 85% of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation so I think he is doing his bit. He is making a fair point about the tax system as a whole.

Jackie, Manchester,

Now that WB is loseing his sences i am sure the US tax man would prefer he go a way. The tax system in the USA and in the UK is set up to make the working class always pay more than there fair share. Now take your pills WB !

John, London, UK

The gap between the very rich and everbody else has grown massively over the last few years. Surely it says something when its left to the head of a private equity company and the worlds 3rd richest man to complain that they don't pay enough tax. Please take note Gordon and Alistair!!

Rebecca Tarn, London, UK

Mr. Buffet. I have studied law. I know tax laws and I assure you that there is no law that prohibits you from paying any amount you care to into the US treasury.
I don't think that your tax rate is too low. I think your secretary's rate is too high. I will support you in your endevours to lower your secretary's tax rate.

Ray Magee, HOLLYWOOD, Florida

Maybe Buffett should simply sit down write out a check for a few billion dollars and send it to the US Treasury Dept.

They would have more money and he would feel so much better for doing so.

He could also give his secretary a few hundred thousand to make both of them feel on top of the world.

Don Lester, Louisville, Kentucky

He's a liar. The tax on $60,000 for a person filing as a single and using the standard deduction is $9,450, or 15.8%.

And he's stupid - did he think no one would check?

M Lord, Pittsburgh, PA

Mr. Buffet did nothing but highlight a flaw within the U.S. tax system that does need correcting and is unfair to many people. The underlying tone of many comments, easily read betwween the lines, (in fact jumping right out at you!) reflects blatant jealousy for Mr. Buffet simply because he is wealthy. Not a doubt in my mind that if the person making the comment was wealthy (rich) the tone and substance of his/her opinion would be VERY different.

F.D., Alex., VA

Shouldn't Mr Buffett instruct his accountants to write a check for $5million dollars and send it to the U.S. Treasury? This simple action would bring his total taxes to about 30% of his income; he could, of course, send more. He might also give a raise to his overtaxed and underpaid secretary.

charles , Herndon , Virginia

Warren Buffet has pledged $35bn along with the same amount from Bill Gates to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. I would say he has put his money where his mouth is.

Andy, Brighton,

Please do not pay more than your assessed taxes. The IRS will not know how to handle this and it is an accounting nightmare. You may just topple the US government by doing this.

"Warren should write the US Treasury a check for whatever he feels guilty about. There is no law against it. Put your own money where your big mouth is and set an example or shut up." Are you people idiots? You are talking about the government. This money would be eaten up by committees and govenement bureaucracy before it would ever do any good. The man is not stupid.

George, MI, USA

Maybe those making the kind of income Mr. Buffett makes should pay more than 17.7% in income tax, but the point is that someone making $60,000 SHOULD NOT be paying 30% in taxes. But, rather than worrying about Warren Buffett's plight, we should be demanding that Congress lower the tax rate for the millions in the Middle Class. We've already seen many times over how this stimulates the economy. Isn't it amazing how money in the working people's hands is more effective than what any liberal lawmaker can do with it?

Larry, Tulsa,

Warren Buffet needs to check his math. I guarantee you he is not paying less in taxes than his receptionist. Just ask the upper middle class in America - the people who get taken to the cleaners every tax season.

Warren Buffet is just drinking the Hollywood celebrity Kool-aid. You know, the people who jet around the world, spewing exhaust out of their private jets so they can tell us to stop polluting, and living in their palatial mansions, telling the middle class that they are evil and greedy. That group.

John, Sewanee, TN

To the people who think there is enough tax. Why is it the government can't afford to pay for a proper medical system. Help the unemployed, the disadvantaged. Supposedly not enough money in the coffers.

Why should somebody who is earning $20+M a year not be paying as much if not more that the average person.

And as for inheritance tax. Why shouldn't the government tax anything over say $30M.

Why because money buys todays politicians - therefor buys policies, buys wealth protection

Alex S, Syndey, Australia

The only way that a $60,000/yr earner "was taxed at 30%" is if you count Medicare and Social Security as part of the tax. The trick is, of course, that we are told the SS portion is not a tax, but rather a contribution (yeah right). And the income on which it is based is capped. Come on writers... a little analysis would totally deflate this bogus "secretary taxed at 30%" claim.

Wesley J. Barrios, McKinney, Texas

To all who disagree with Buffet here, let's consider that perhaps the man who has more money than god knows what he is doing. very few people know how to make a dollar grow better than Buffet, and I think he's going in a great direction here.
It is pointless to show that Buffet pays more dollars to tax, even at a lower rate. The point is that the difference in tax rates emphasizes the weath gap between the richest and the poorest of our nation. This is no Marxist mission he's on, its rather a humanitarian one.
@Stovall: "The U.S. treasury is awash in cash as a result of the Bush tax [rate] cuts." We're in debt son, we're borrowing on margin here.
@Simmons: "The idea behind allowing folks with wealth to keep a great deal of their money is that they invest it" The idea is that by making tax rates even, upward social mobility will be equal for everyone, even the most poor, as opposed to the exponential system that favors the rich. The rich are just getting richer.

Patrick, Portland, Oregon

Buffett is a Democrat shill. While he may be one of the world's preeminent value investors, ihis understanding of political economics is deficient. If tax and fiscal policy were conducted as Buffett would have it, not only would he not be nearly as wealthy as he now is, so too would tens of millions of Americans not be as well off as they are today.

dez, St Louis, MO

Very liberal written article.

#1 it blames people who make a lot of money for the disparity between rich and poor, as if the money they made is a crime and they should be punnished for it.

#2 Why doesnt the article mention that the 60,000 his secretary makes is earned income not investment income like Mr Buffet makes. Cap gains are taxed less because for most people the money they invested was already subject to an earned income tax and the gains they received from those investments were from monies already taxed from which the funds were originally invested.

Goes to show how a little twisting of the truth can give the wrong impression.

Mark, Union, nj

A person who makes $60000 does not pay 30% federal tax. The worst case is that a small fraction of his/her income is taxed on the rate of 30%. He/she is not paying $18000 in federal tax. Mr. Buffett pays 17.7% of his 46 million income, which amounts to 8.142 million. I thought the federal tax rate for regular income is much higher, unless there is a lot of charitable deduction, and a great portion of the income is from devidend and long term capital gains.

K Chu, Wyckoff, USA/NJ

his point is simply saying that the tax structure is not right. He does not give more to the govt because he knows that he would simply be throwing money to a compulsive shopper, in debt and maxed out credit cards. He is smarter than donating any money to this pitiful govt. This country should be ran as a business that profits year after year and, we as citizens, should be the shareholders and make sure that the elected officials use the money wisely. IF not, your fired.....

david, kansas city, Mo

I do not know what Mr. Buffett is smoking, but the federal income tax on a 60,000 income, assuming the person is single and has no dependents, is 8,000. Not like this is real difficult to check, does our media exercise any responsibility at all?

George, Atlanta, GA

For those pointing out the federal tax rates and wondering how the secretary could pay 30%, you are ignoring Medicare and Social Security (which has a cap, such that earnings about a certain amount are not taxed), state taxes, local taxes, and property taxes.

$3,000 in property tax, not unusual in many areas for a comfortable home, is 5% of that $60k. My state tax is %4 or so, my local city tax is 6%. Medicare and SS are another 8% or so. No trouble reaching 30%.

If Buffet's income is primarily from investments, which I assume it is, they are taxed not at the max federal income rate, but at the capital gains rate of 15%, and these are exempt from Medicare and SS.

Walter Rice, Philadelphia, PA, USA

On second thought - If his secretary on $60K pays an effective rate of 30% on federal income taxes......She should fire her accountant, or upgrade her version of Turbo Tax.

Ben, Fairfax, VA

This is another example of how the Fair Tax would be the better way to go. Learn more, be informed. The Fair Tax is non-partisan, both parties don't like it because it puts more control to the people.

Joe D., springfield, MO

Buffett certainly touched an American nerve. Lots of comments are right such not paying his secretary or cleaner a higher rate. But generally the vitriol seems to come from the "damn you, I'm alright" school of thinking where the poor and disadvantaged can go to the wall. The PRINCIPAL behind his statement is absolutely correct. The individual example of wealth distribution cannot possibly make a fundamental difference but if all those who can demonstrably afford to give a bit more do so then a difference can be made.

mike gee, bournemouth, uk

It's the secretary and cleaner who ought to pay less tax, not Warren Buffett who should pay more. People seem to assume that there is a divine law that says we should pay a lot of tax and that it is immoral not to. Governments could learn to be frugal.

Frank Upton, Solihull,

The solution to the Buffet concern seems simple. If as he claims the rich only pay 17.7 percent of their income in taxes, then let the rest of us pay at the same rate. Don't increase the tax rate on the rich: Decrease the rate for the middle class, and watch the economy grow, not the government. This debate never deals with the truth that most low income people pay no taxes at all. They benefit from things like the earned income tax credit, which gets them a refund for simply having less income.

Luis F. Gomez, Jr., Orlando, FL

Well said Valentin, well said...

Paul, Iowa City, USA/IA

If these lousy, bean-counting, hypocrites are so concerned about US tax code, why don't they donate more of their money to charitable causes and foundations, instead of pandering to the left with their "look at me, i'm so noble because I can afford to be" crusades.

BK, Manhattan Beach, CA, USA

Pay tax on what you buy...not your income. More toys you want, the more tax you pay.

Pablo, Santa Cruz, CA

The first comment by John Becker points to the problem with the US system--the wealthy like Mr. Buffet can elect to pay the same rates as the working class, but they do not have to pay the same rates. The tax laws favor the wealthy, and the wealthy have more money to spend on tax lawyers and accountants to help them hide their wealth. It is an utterly disgraceful system, and I am glad Mr. Buffet is using his position to draw attention to it.

Nick James, Jersey City, NJ

To all those crying that Mr Buffett should have just paid more tax voluntarily- you are missing the point. He is saying that not only that the super rich should be paying more, but also that the poorest should be paying less. Just paying more will do no good, as all the money would probably end up being spent on 'war on terror' or other similar sort of scheme rather than on the people who actually need the financial incentives.

A Dzelzyte, London, UK

The US gov't does not need to tax anyone. They can just print the money to pay their bills. In fact, they already started to do just that. It is called "monetizing the debt."

Dan, NJ,

Then you identify exactly what our current administration did with those generous $300 checks a couple years ago. If the top 25% do indeed pay 84.6%, and etc., then the sum of those checks should have been distributed accordingly. And last time I checked, we didn't live in a Marxist state.

"Today the top 50% of all US income earners pay 96.70% of all income taxes. the top 25% pay 84.6% and the top 1% pays 36.84% of all taxes; what could be less fair.

The idea of taking the $30 billion from the richest families and "giving" it to 30 million "poor" families does not sound like a proper role for [a non-Marxist] government."

Glen, Las Cruces, NM

If Warren Buffet wants to pay more in taxes, all he has to do is not take the advantage of the loopholes. He is holding on to his assets with a tight grip, and ony parceling out some of his fortune for recognition today. After he is deceased, the Gates Foundation will start the monument building. Come on Warren, you can trust the general teasury of our government to distribute your fortune for you NOW. This was only a pandering statement. Most Americans are fed up with the hypocrisy.

John, Frisco, TX

I'm struck by how many people are attacking this. I don't read this as saying we should raise taxes on everyone. I read his idea as a zero net change in taxes collected, so him paying a higher rate would result in you and me paying less. I don't see a problem with that.

With regards to the death tax, as onerous as it may be, American society needs something to prevent a permanent aristocracy. Wealthy people should be wealthy because they are harder working, smarter, funnier, sexier, riskier, etc. than the average American. You should not be wealthier only because someone you never knew several generations ago made a lot of money, and that is the problem with eliminating the death tax. You need a drag on generational wealth to keep America "the land of opportunity." Figure out a way to protect family farms and small businesses, but don't allow someone to be wealthy in 2200 just because his last name is Gates (or Buffett, Clinton, Bush, Forbes, Turner, etc.). Make him earn it.

Joe, Minneapolis, MN

There is nothing to prevent Mr. Buffett nor any of his mega-rich elitist pals, or large multinational corporations for that matter, from paying more tax than is required by law. The IRS will gladly accept the money. Instead they often use loopholes created just for their benefit and that are not available to the average American..

J Hursh, Weston, CT USA

If Mr Buffett is so concerned about his poor secretary, why doesn't he pay her taxes for her? I'm sure her tax bill is a paltry amount to Mr Buffett.

I find it amusing that Mr Buffett thinks that the rich don't pay enough taxes. The top 1% already pays 37% of the income tax burden but only makes 19% of total income. That means the top 1% pays double their fair share. What more could he possibly want?

Kile Anderson, Prairieville, LA, USA

Mr. Buffett makes sense. The middle class is taking it on the chin. His secretary is middle class at $60M per year in NE. Also, his billions of assets are not taxed until sold. The homeowner in Omaha pays property tax to the state through the nose as does the farmer in out state.

Because the upper 1% pays more taxes than the lower 30% means nothing. You can't pay taxes if you don't have income. The tax cut was great. It worked. Now cut the taxes to the middle class so that they have money to spend.

Good job Warren. I hope that we can place some of your ideas. Last I checked, he does a pretty good job.

C. Rasmussen, North Platte, NE, Nebraska

www.fairtax.org

join the revolt. or quit complaining.

j. shaw, chapel hill,

Republicans are not, and have not been the party of small government. They are a big government party - its all "defense" and "security" tho. Big brother is watching you - and he's very very expensive.

Danno, SF, CA

If Warren is unhappy with the amount of taxes he paid, he can remedy that. The IRS has a form that you can fill out and send more tax dollars in. You simply fill out the form, and send in the check.

Warren also is taxed not under regular income rates, but has established a foundation. He pays taxes under a separate tax code than his secretary.

I say flat tax for everyone. 20%, no deductions, send it in. If you are poverty stricken, you get earned income credits and pay zero tax.

Then Warren could have sent 20% of 46 million in.

jeff Carter, Chicago, IL

Many of us are neither poor enough nor rich enough to be a Democrat

Dave Ryan, Barrington, IL

Buffett is merely wanting to sound like a philanthropist without giving an extra cent than he has to. He should put his money where his mouth is or stop reminding us how undeservedly wealthy he is.

James, London, UK

Mr Buffett,
Why don't you write a $20 billion check to the US Treasury and present it on national TV. Leave the rest of us alone.

Norm Robbins, Grapevine, TX

50% of all Americans pay no income tax, period. Do they pay other taxes like SS and Medicare, yes But remember in a progress income tax system that we have the top 5% of wage earners pay over 50% of all taxes paid.

GD, MD, USA

The Fair Tax would abolish all income taxes, and replace them with an inclusive national sales tax. That means you only get taxed on what you spend. When the rich in Buffett want to buy retardedly expensive new cars and houses, they pay the government huge, while the rest of us who live in the real world will only pay a fraction of what the likes of Buffett would pay.
FairTax.org

Luke, Panama City, FL

To Jason D., lewiston, Maine,

"the heirs of the wealthy who did nothing"? Now, now, there's no need to bring Al Gore, John Kerry, and Mrs. Clinton into this.

Eddie Stonelake, Austin/Texas, USA

It amazes me when one of the "Elite" tells me he is not paying enough in taxes...if he were taxed what he WANTS to be taxed, he might not have the ability to GIVE 1 billion dollars to charity..now who do you think will manage that money better, a charity headed by Gates, or congress and the ugh, IRS? Income taxes are unconstitution anyway, and amount to nothing more than legalized extortion by our government. Get rid of the income tax, raise the sales taxes, and he will pay his "fair" share...cheers to FREEDOM

Scott, denver, usa/co

Obviously with repeated several hundred billion dollar deficits, the current tax system is not near as fiscally responsible as the old tax system, where we taxxed the rich and gave more breaks to the lower and middle classes, not to mention the US was a stronger economic power before Bush got in with his new tax breaks to the rich way of taxxing America.

James, St.Louis, MO

Mr. Buffet,---No one is stopping you from sending more money, say 50% of your gross income, to the IRS each year. You'll still continue to accumulate great wealth . Many of us, through a lifetime of hard work, some investment risks and thrift, have managed to accumulate assets valued at a few million dollars (not tens of million or billions). Do you thinl we should be subject to the same confiscatory ESTATE tax that you think is OK. Even if half of your estate were claimed by the IRS your heirs and legatees are likely to be very well off. Those of us with modest wealth, who have chosen to live modestly so we could take care of our own needs as we age (not rely on the government) and pass on most of our estate to children and grandchildren. We should not be discouraged from our hard work and thrift. .Individual estate tax exemptions should be a minimum of $5,000,000 and indexed for inflation. Then progressive tax rates: 10% for next 10m, 30% for next 40m, and 50% beyond that

Stan Alper, Silver Spring, MD

After the sum of money he gave to charity, I can't critique much that he says. His argument is spot on and the wealthy should be taxed more. I hope to oneday join those ranks so asking the government to begin changes that will eventually end up screwing me is hard to do; but its the right thing to do.

David, Arlington, VA

Hey, touchy folks. Warren Buffett isn't talking about raising your taxes. You don't make $20 million a year. You never will. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Warren Buffett is pointing out that income earned through private equity is taxed at a much lower rate than salary or wage income. This is true.

He is saying that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than himself. Given that Warren Buffet is the type of guy who watches every penny, I'm sure that he knows his own payroll.

To those of you who suggest that Buffett simply donate more, who are you kidding?

John, Brooklyn, Ny

I'm sure Mr Buffett's secretary could make more than $60k by going to work for a competitor.

george, concord, massachusetts

Then lower the secretary's and the cleaner's tax!

t c phillips, somewhere, earth

I hope all you bozos saying that Buffet could pay more taxes if he wanted realize that he and the Gates family have signed over the vast majority of their remaining assets upon death to their internation charity fund right? I thought not. He doesnt think that the government can necessarily do well with the money, he is merely saying it is unfair that people who contribute so few tangible things in the world, yet control so much of the wealth, pay significantly less than those they profit from.

And for those who are saying 'they pay 99% of the taxes', of course they do, they control 99% of the wealth. Pull your heads out people, the 1% of the world that controls most of it are using you.

Matt, Portland Oregon,

If you give a million poor people a thousand dollars each ,after they spend it you have a million poor people.My father ,when I turned ten gave me an alarm clock,showed me how to use it ,and told me all you need to prosper in America is an alarm clock.You set it every night,less holidays,wake up when it rings and go where you should be and do what you should do when you get there.Repeat for fifty or sixty years.It's worked .All six of my siblings and I are worth over a million ,some a lot over,and believe me we a nothing special,other then the products of alarm clocks well used.On the other hand if you are lazy,and not willing to arise early and work all day ,it is just ,and right, and as it should be, that you are poor.It proves their is a God.

bill, new york, usa

You really have to feel sorry for individuals that enjoy looming over others on a mountain of gold. I am certainly in favor of progressive taxation initiatives, because while we hope that private citizens would use their inflated assets to benefit the nation it seems as though that is not the case. Do we need 54 billion dollars? It appears there is some level of guilt associated with that wealth, and it is indeed warranted. Lord over others in another country pal.

John, Maryland,

I'd say that without question, Mr Buffett is welcome to send all his billions of dollars to the government. Nothing stops him from giving it to the poor. I suspect though that Mr Buffett is not mother Theresa. Anyone who accumulates that much money for himself is definitely not a giver.

Go ahead Warren, make my day. Give all your money to the government...

David Bedford, Ocala,

A tax is a disincentive to do something. Taxing income is a disincentive to having a job. Maybe it is time that this bizarre Regency tax were replaced by something more appropriate to the modern economy?

John Ledbury, Kings Lynn, England

The problem here are these fund managers who are only paying the reduced capital gains of 15% -that's insane. They are making multi-millions of dollars and should pay the ordinary income tax rate on this. The whole mess would be resolved if we simply instituted a flat tax rate with an scaled exemption cutoff level where no income tax should be required (ie family of 4 making 50,000 should not have to pay any income tax). Cut back on pork spending and we won't need to collect as much in taxes!

nate, Maastricht, NL

As others have already stated, if Mr. Buffet wishes to pay more into the US treasury, he is certainly free to do so. My question is this: if taxes on the wealthy are so important then why does Mr. Buffet object to the raising of aiport & landing fees for private jets? Private Jets in the US pay approx 1/4 what a passenger jet pays and get the same service from the FAA and local port authorities. Also the argument can be made that they should pay more, since compared to the passenger jet, the private jet is consuming more fuel per passenger than a fully loaded commercial airliner. Also private jets are exclusively in the domain of the rich who, according to Mr. Buffet should be paying more. Could it be that this particular tax would hurt NetJets corporation, which Mr. Buffet's company owns? Once again - do as I say, not as I do.

R. Pettengill, London, UK

Is Warren's 17.7% measured on gross income or taxable income? If the former, then bear in mind that he has the good luck of being in a position to make large charitable contributions (which he does), thereby reducing his taxes at the highest rates. I don't think his secretary in making multi-billion dollar contributions.

Also, have his US taxes been reduced by foreign tax credits for taxes paid to foreign countries and which, therefore, wouldn't be factored into his 17.7%.

Don't be fooled by figures as to which you don't have all the facts.

mike, stamford, ct

Why don't we just lower the tax rate for the poor instead of increasing it for the rich?

Why is the answer always raising someones taxes?

Studley, Milwaukee,

America was never stronger than when the Unions were very strong and in every factory, and every millionaire was taxed at 90%. (though none ever paid at that level, and a few paid no taxes at all.) At that time in the late 1960's, when I graduated from high school and began to work in the factories, America was at its peak financially, with more money going to the working class than ever before in the history of any nation. Now, Le Monde reports that my brothers in America have the same buying power as did my grandfather in 1949! Buffet is a fair and honest man who still believes in one's duty to one's fellow man. Most of todays new Billionaires are nothing more than common criminals, and I note that we are sending many to prison, which is were the greedy belong. The French say, "Behind every great Fortune is a great crime." Personally, I believe this to be generally, and sadly, correct."

Victor Compton, Urville-Nacqueville, FRANCE

The biggest flaw in what Buffett is saying is the assumption that giving money to the poor via the Government is of benefit to society. This is completely false. Entitlements, welfare and other handoouts have proven ineffective time and again. What is most effective, is for the wealthy to donate money to those organizations that can effectively help those in need or other beneficial causes such as curing disease. And Buffett (and many of the wealthy) have already done this. so the questions is, why is Buffett so insistent the rich pay more? He must hope to give more power to the government wile deperiving the wealthy of any power they have to do good. Sounds frightening to me.

daveescaped, Bakersfield, CA

I have to say that the system is definitely flawed, and I'm glad that someone who is actually rich is echoing the sentiment that many of us have. My wife and I both work full time and make just barely of $30k a year combined. We live paycheck to paycheck, and have only spent about $50 this year for entertainment. Everything else goes for food, gas, and utilities. When we did out taxes, though, we found out that we OWE more than $500 dollars (money that we don't have). I think that there should either be an even tax percentage for all incomes or and increasing percentage scale as you have more income. It's not right that people who are doing all they can just to stay in the black end up owing money that they don't have. I am now looking for a Second job just to make ends meet.

Mark, Ohio,

Mr. Buffet is speaking about the top 1% of income earners, in a room full of top 1%ers who agree with him. I would venture to guess that not one of the people on this board comes remotely close to being in this bracket, yet many are filled with anger about his statements which would ultimately benefit them in the form of LOWER taxes. This is how the republicans have come to power - by convincing the multitudes in mouth-breathing middle america that they are (or will be soon be) in the elite group at the top who will pay an estate tax or lower tax bracket. This is a statistical impossibility. My point is only that noone on this board will ever likely have enough to qualify for the so called "death tax" and a room full of rich guys saying its unfair how little they pay in taxes will HELP all of you on this board - not just the cleaning ladies.

Ross, Austin, Texas

I think the point here is not whether Mr.Buffet would like to pay more tax cos he's not happy with his lower tax rate. The point is that the tax structure is illogical.
This is not about Buffet or his secretary.

P Bhat, Egham,

Go Warren!
The tax system is one of the great portals throughwhich the economic ladder passes. If it becomes a barrier, the Marxian dialectic will be fullfilled and advanced capitalist societies will suffer.
The guy from Goldman has it right.

Geo Kegler, London, UK

I agree we should expand the size of the middle class. We should tax the very wealthy, 75% tax rate on incomes in excess of $10 million per year. The $10 million is plenty of motivation. We should also tax inheritances above $10 million at 75%. Tax those with less than $10 million at a reduced rate, with a max tax of 25%. Or we should tax consumption, but exempt food, clothing, medical care, etc.

bruce hughes, coto de caza, ca

Buffet is a great investor but apparently an idiot when it comes to federal income taxes. A couple of observations: 1) What a cheapskate! He made $46B and can only spring for $60K for his secretary? Thanks for thinking of the little people Warren!2) His math is either intentionally misleading or the guy has altzheimers. 17% of $46B is a tad bit more than 35% of $60k. 3) If a secretary making $60K is paying 35% in federal income taxes she is either an idiot or also has altzheimers. Hey Warren, how bout springing for a tax preparer for your cheap labor? 4) And most important - THE TAX RATE IS A FLOOR RATE, NOT A CAP. FEEL FREE TO PONY UP AS MUCH AS YOU WANT TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BETTER.
As usual libral/socialistic crap wont stand up to the facts. Again, Buffett is either an idiot or intentianally attempting to mislead the less informed and mentally challenged. Without class envy they got a big bag of nothing.

Bill P, Dallas, TX

It would be so much better if the tax code was so simple a five year old could understand it. Give us a tax code that's about 3 pages long and we will astound the world with our productivity.

dwick, Monroe, Michigan

Never ask a billionaire a question about finance or politics...they live in a different world.

ed, Boston , MA

All the bright sparks who say he should just pay more tax voluntarily are missing the key point.
This will not alleviate tax payments for people on lower income, merely dissapear into huge pointless expenses such as the Iraq conflict...

Think about it!!!

Jay, London, UK

After reading the first 3 comments no wonder us average guys pay more taxes. After hearing the 3 riches guy in the world they refute his agrument? This is the very reason we pay more.

Don't you think he understand our system as good as anyone in the world?

vance

Vance Scoggin, Plainview, Texas

So then if the Top 25% of income earners pay 85% of the taxes and are at say a 17% tax rate.

What is the problem then of having a Flat Tax of say 15%?

There are some very viable Flat Tax plans out there that would not start that FLAT tax until certain income levels are met.

You then have those that are off the grid and earn only cash. Illegal activities and some cash only business like food vendors, taxi drivers, vending machine operators and the like. Those sources of income are in most cases are never taxed.

Then there are people who just do not file because of their total disdain for the income tax system and its megapage volumes of BS.

KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Make is easier for everyone to pay thier fair share.

We all want to support our nations fiscal needs.

If everyone would pay 10% in Tax to the GOVT. and 10% to thier favorite charity which actually invests back into the communuities we live in. In my humble opinion we would all be in good shape ! IAM4U

TC, Greensboro, NC

The problem is with income taxes period. They are a disincentive to work harder / more and are completely regressive. The United States should move to a sales tax. This would encourage savings and reward investment and tax people who spent more (presumably the rich). Guess what though, the Democrats Buffet is going to help put in office will never go for that, because they depend on a victim class in perpetual debt living in fear of losing a government hand out. Buffet is obviously smart, but he benefitted more from his upbringing and family connections than his brains in my opinion. No matter how hard the left / socialists / communists try and redistribute wealth, the 'rich' are not suddenly going to give venture capital to lower income people or hire them for board memberships.

Mike G, Louisville, Kentucky

Wow. So all you people complain because the super rich are trying to indicate that the US taxation system is out of whack?

Your answers are to send more money? What about the other super rich? Should they, out of kindness, just send more money? Man, I wish there were a way to force them to send as much as what everyone else is sending, proportionally.. Oh wait, maybe there is.

I'm really shocked that you, as representatives of your people, would discourage reform to fairer system, or in this case, even the discussion of it... just Wow.

D., Ottawa, Canada

I contend that Mr. Buffett is a Democrat only because he can AFFORD to be a Democrat. He will no feel the bite of any tax increase. It will have no effect on his style of living as it does on the lower and middle classes that he seems so worried about. If Mr. Buffett and the Democrats are so concernerned over the disparity of tax rates why do we not see them championing the fair tax cause, which would change the tax structure completely by taxing consumption rather than income?

Steven Jones, Charleston, SC

If his secretary was single and didn't pay a mortgage, it is very well possible she paid 20% tax. Calling social security a low yield investment is laughable. Few people will ever see a balance between investment and return. Some people will put in a little and get very much back while others will put in much and receive very little. Besides that, it is a very inefficient system. Having been a government employee before and seeing the waste and mismanagement (spend the budget so you get it back next year and 90% dead wood employees) I have no doubt that 75% of funds going into SS gets lost in administration. No one would invest in a mutual fund with similar administration costs.

Buffet makes a good point and I am no liberal.

Also, what if the richest 1% pay 99% of the tax but has 99.99% of the wealth?

Griff, Annapolis, MD

That's just asinine. If Buffet was telling the whole story he would've mentioned how much of his money went to charity and the real reason why he only paid 17% (due to him receiving so many tax credits). If he gave away nothing all year and had no corporate loss he would pay closer to 50%.

Aside from write-off's (ie: people, gifts, business loss, house tax, etc...) the rich always will pay more!

A Guy Who Knows, nunya, NY

Raise the tax threshhold to at least £10,000 p.a. I get combined pension of £7,200, and still pay tax. Brown has promised to improve pensions, but hasn't done so in the last 10 years. The "Xmas Bonus" is still only £10. I am grateful for the winter fuel £200, but my last 2 pension increases have been swamped by higher income tax, council tax, fuel bills etc. I am worse off now than 18 months ago when my husband died. He had mobility allowance which paid for a car. I had to sell it as I couldn't afford to run it.
I got, as a widow, less than half of the benefits he received, but still had the same bills. I got 90% of the DSS pension he paid for, & only 50% of the graduated pension he paid for. Who said Dick Turpin was dead?
I got his firm's pension in full for 3 months, Then 50%, but when he started paying into the fund It stated in the Civil Service handbook I would get the full rate for a year. Robbed again.
I wish my pension could be paid offshore then I could be tax exempt..

bled dry, WINDSOR, England

Buffet claims that he is “paying less tax than a cleaning lady”. This is a classic liberal case of mixing percentages with real dollars. Mr. Buffet claims that his secretary whom is paid $60,000 a year pays 30 percent in taxes. That would be $18,000. Buffet claims that he made $46,000,000 and paid 17.7 percent in taxes. That would be about just over $8,000,000 in income tax. I would like to see the cleaning lady who pays those kind of numbers in income taxes. Real dollars are what counts...not percentages.

I'm sure Mr. Buffet isn't a supporter of a flat tax. Under a flat system, using his skewed mathematics, he would be paying the same in taxes as his cleaning lady. Ridiculous!

Mark W. Bliton, Denver, Colorado USA

I am reminded of the parable of the rich man in the temple - filling a coffer to give and scoffing at a poor man giving only a pittance. Jesus' criticism is toward the rich man because what he gave was so easy to give out his abundance while the poor gave all that he had to the point of neglecting his own needs in the near future.
To use real dollar amounts to compare what a poor person pays to what a wealthy one does is intellectually dishonest. Warren Buffet could pay 0.5% of his taxable income and still give more money than his poor receptionist. However, its way more unfair compared to her 35%.
Let the man who is paying the taxes say what is fair. The receptionist pays far more of her income to the government than Warren Buffet. It will never be fair no matter what painful logical twists you may take.

Greg Perry, Gallup, NM

Jim in Baltimore is exactly right. The secretary may be paying 30%, but that is not federal income tax. Maybe some bait and switch if you add Soc Sec, Medicare, State and Local taxes, etc. It is a bald faced lie. And the $46 million is obviously not ordinary income either. It is almost certainly capital gains and most likely long term capital gains at that. These are taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income to encourage all Americans to invest and save. What a crock this whole article is. Buffett is clearly playing to the uninformed masses which simply buy this at face value. Just like the rest of the socialist lefties. Mr. Buffett has been beyond generous with his charitable contributions. Does anyone here think that the US Government would utilize this money better than a private foundation like the Gates? Who are you kidding? And the $1000 for the 30 million poor families would just add a new iPod and X-box to the household. The poor people in America drive BMWs too

Steve, Phoenix,

Our Constitution was written at a time when income taxes were unheard of and not intended. If we take our tax system back to a Constitutionally approved and representative (no tax without representation) consumption tax (National Sales Tax) noone is excluded and the IRS is reduced to what it should be, a collection bureau not a powerful enforcement agency.

Until then, Mr. Buffet should just pay, say, 30% of his income in taxes. The same as his,"$60,000 per year", secretary.

Steve

SteveJohnson, Virginia,

I'm all for the Fair Tax. But if we have to pay taxes on income (and I don't see why it should be absolutely necessary) then there should be a single percentage rate for EVERYONE. That way eveyone is taxed the same so no one really has room to complain.

Jen, LC, NM

For one he should give his secretary a raise ..the cheapskate...for two she doesnt pay 30% and if she is well then she needs to get a new accountant. Finally people like Buffett pay less taxes largely because they hide their money in tax shelters....Kennedys and Kerrys do the same...so no matter what the rate they would be charged they still would skate. ...We need to get rid of the tax shelters they persist in using while railing against the inequity.

donna, blue bell, PA

1) The income tax #'s are a side show for the super-rich. The real money is their wealth - which is in the tens of billions, not their annual income. When someone is that rich, it's about accumulating and controlling WEALTH, not INCOME.
2) Those tens of billions of wealth that will NEVER be subject to tax, By putting money into foundations, the money is out of reach of taxes. The death tax, which Buffett and Gates advocate, will not affect them or their family -- so their advocacy is disingenuous.
3) The foundations, which on the surface appear to promote good causes, are really vehicles for the super-rich and their families to control wealth indefinitely - through generations. They are only required to distribute 5% of their assets each year - and very few exceed this rule.

Why do the super-rich get to decide which "good" causes their money gets directed to while the rest of us fund wars, pork-barrel projects, bureaucracy, etc. via taxes?

Billy, Los Angeles, CA

Read the article again, scott! Of course the top 1% still pay the most net taxes; thier income is so rediculously high! They pay half the percantage of their income then regular middle class Americans who need the money way more.

Tim M, Ithaca, NY

People like Warren Buffett and John Edwards pay lower taxes because they make their income from invested principle. They can buy tax free muni-bonds, and don't have to pay taxes on the interest they make. No matter how much the intrest.

Income tax is a tax on INCOME earned by working. High taxes only effect people who work for their money. Once they have the money and invest it, they pay lower taxes.

To elimate the divide between "rich" and "poor", the "poor", like Buffet's secretary, need to pay less taxes on their income so they have more to invest, save, or use to pay down debt.

Bush's tax cuts have stimulated the economy and allowed the "poor" to have a higher net pay. We should be working for ourselves, our future, and our children's future, not to pay for governement.

30% federal tax on income? How is that helping the "poor" prepare for their future? So glad John Edward's campaign promise is to raise taxes. Not on his "rich" self, just the "rich" working Americans.

Dara, Milwaukee, WI

I'm very tired of hearing the phrase "the rich need to pay their fair share" of taxes. As many posts have already pointed out, the upper 25% of wage earners in the US pay almost all income taxes. How much more is "fair"? Why not have the top 10 or 25% pay ALL the taxes, so the rest of us can just feed at the trough??
Is it "fair" for almost 50% of U.S earners to pay NO Federal income taxes, while reaping all the benefits of the various programs the taxes provide?
We are soon going to get to the point in this nation where over 50% of wage earners will be paying no Federal taxes - that is they will be net "takers" of others labor. I guess that's the libs idea of "fair"....and it would mean the end of the entrepenurial spirit that makes our system the envy of the world.

Tom, San Antonio, TX

The disparity of taxation has always been this way.

The art of taxing is to pluck as many feathers from the goose as you can with the least amount of honking.

The rich have the means to get around paying their fair share. They always have. The easiest way to fix this is to abolish the seperation on the different kinds of income.

Income is income whether you earn it by working or get interest from your familes investments. Charging the rich less of a percentage because they pay more over all is insane.

The $1000 you take from a poorer family could mean someone skipping doctors appointments, not getting enough to eat or not having the necessities of life.

To a person of means the change could mean they have to skip a weekend trip to ski. Not quite the same is it? Those that argue about the rich being treated unfairly are likely themselves people of means who wish to take no responsibility for the world they live in.

Les, Iowa City, IA, USA

warren buffet has the right idea. people with tens of millions + aren't struggling to put their kids through college, pay for cars and gas, ect. And the last few years have shown that (see the economic recession we had) rich people keep their damn money. They invest in stuff like houses and yachts and cars with that money they're saving. 60% of americans are now in debt trying to live a normal life, and they'e the ones getting taxed out the eyeballs. I don't give a crap that Warren Buffet actually pays millions in taxes to the normal persons thousands, its about how they can afford to live after taxes. And now with inflation, the ACT tax (which heavily taxes people with incomes from ~$90,000-~$200,000) is becoming a nusance because it was created (70's) when those figures meant a LOT more than they do today, heck thats middle class, and lawmakers can't repeal or reform it because of those tax cuts Bush gave to the millionaires without sending the US into trillions in debt.

rob, pine bluff, USA

Warren buffet makes most of his money from long term capital gains which are only taxed at 15%.

As to the argument that he should pay more to the IRS or give away all of his money if he thinks the system is not fair, he is.

Buffet is giving away 80% of his $44 billion fortune.

Looks like the old man is putting his money where his mouth is.

Charles, Durham, NC,

Even lower income people are effected by the inheritance tax. They end up having to sell their parents assets to pay the tax.

It's not that the rich aren't taxed enough but that lower income people are taxed too much. Fix that.

Why are all tax cuts only for the rich? It makes no sense.

This is just another excuse to raise taxes which will effect everybody and to keep the gov't from cutting the inheritance tax which should be done. Yes, it will effect rich AND lower income alike but I'll take that too. If you want to take more than 17% (which is alot, by the way) then do it some other way.

But if you think you can hold onto your parents farm or house, think again. The inheritance tax effects you too.

wal

wal, franklin, ma

It's easy to point our the issues with our federal goverment. So he gives his answer, but the answer that seems he is giving is a bigger issue to me. So he thinks that government should take more from him? That's fine - and if wants to indirectly pay taxes he can start by paying his employees more.
The issue that is raised here is not about him, is about what he wants the government to do to the rest of us. His actions as being part of this liberal (raise taxes crowd) fund raiser say much more than what he was trying to make us believe. He want government to raise someone's taxes.
And by the way, our family gives 10% of our income to charity and I don't want taxes raised on anyone, I want them lowered for everyone. How about the Fairtax?

Edward Ruiz, Concord, CA

First, I don't know how he is able to pay under 18% without trying to lower his tax bite. While I consider myself fortunate with my earnings and am in the upper 1%, I paid over 33% and I was trying to lower my tax amount. As for the inheritance tax, it is really criminal to have been taxed throughout our lives at a nearly 50% top rate (federal & state), then to have whatever you accumulated in your lifetime taxed another 55% upon your death. In essence nearly 3 of every 4 dollars earned in your lifetime goes to the government. That's socialism at it's finest! How about spending is out of control by these same democrats? Our tax money is used by our politicians to buy votes and now there is a new target market. Where else but here can an illegal alien receive our tax money for medical, housing and retirement benefits?

Glenn, Laguna Hills, CA

I'd prefer to see those who can afford it privately give to charity (as Buffet has done in a massive way - he's given the bulk of his wealth away) rather than have government mandated philanthropy via higher tax rates on the wealthy.

Wealth doesn't put more load on the taxpayer provied infrastructure, so there's no reason for Buffet to pay $7.8 million in taxes (17.7% x $54M) while his secretary pays $18K (30% x $60K). There is nothing fair about equal percentage taxes - equal dollar taxes would be fair, and leave the rest to charity.

Ben, White Plains, NY,

Nobody I read in this comment forum seems to "get it" what Warren said. The reason that the top percentage of wealthy people in this country pay such a large percentage of total tax (even though their rate is lower than the poor) is because the disparity between the haves and have nots has broadened so wide in the past few years. IT IS NOT THE FAULT OF THE POORER, THEY ARE PAYING THE HIGHEST RATES. The majority of the people are basically stupid, which is why we have this situation...it was the poor that voted republican and they got what they deserved...the republicans are the borrowers and spenders, the demos have to raise taxes to make up for what the repubs borrowed....until we get a third party out there that is for the people, by the people, we will continue to have an insane situation that will finally reach crescendo...remember, the Boston Tea Party occured over a 1/2% tax levied by the British...today I pay about 1/2 of my TOTAL income on taxes when all is said and done..

Jim Pitts, Paducah,

...and that's the way the rich get richer...

I have been an advocate of flat-tax for 20 years, now. However, nobody else seems to agree.

Any takers on this argument?

Lawrence Hartley, Gainiesville, FL

A flat rate of 10% would solve all problems and complaints.

If you earn a dollar / pound/ euro you pay 10c / 10p, up-front no arguments - capital reinvestment can be done from post tax profit, just like everyone one else does it.

Dave, Den Haag,

The answer my friends is to abolish the income tax (and pass an amendment forbidding its return). THEN, and only then, create a consumption tax.

At that point, we can then see how guilty Buffet and his ilk feel about paying taxes...

Steven, Stockton, CA, USA

Ok Warren the public debt is 4,951,221,935,905.18 as of 6/27/2007. I'll pay the $0.18 and if you could pay say $51 billion and keep a billion for youself, that would be great. Here's the address to send the check. Thanks.

Bureau of the Public Debt
Gift to reduce the Debt Held by the Public
Attn Dept G
Bureau Of the Public Debt
P. O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

Jon, Franklin, USA / WI

It seems most of the posters did not actually READ the article. Buffett state without any tax shelters or tricks he is still taxed at a loer rate that an ordinary persaon.
he is pointing out the inequities of the tax code and posters are commenting upon the amount of money he made.
Insteadof carping about how much Warren make look at the emat of tha articcle to see how unfair the tax rates are !!

Rik, biddeford, maine

Oh, god, and all the American Republican apologists climb out of the woodwork to protest. How embarrassing. I think it's because they can't understand Buffet's argument. I wish Warren Buffet were a little younger and would run for President.

T. Roth, Danbury, CT, USA

What kind of guy woth 50 Billion pays his secretary 60 grand?

Dan, san diego, california

If Mr. Buffet And his liberal Ilk really believe what he says, why doesn't he give 45 million to the government, and live on a paltry one million. Or better yet, give his secretary a $60,000 raise?

George Maxwell, Albany, NY

Sounds to me like Mr Buffett would be an advocate in abolishing the IRS in favor of the Fair Tax.

Michael, Reddick, FL

Gov budget should be cut in at least half. Instead of increasing tax on wealthy to bring "equality", institute national sales tax, or flat income tax (this would be truly equal). Eliminate death tax - that money has already been taxed.

It is ridiculous how much money the govt steals from us.

Rich people feeling guilty of their success should be able to contribute by their free will to the govt.

Cut a check Warren - we're waiting.

Tom, Minneapolis, USA

Mr Buffet, have you bothered to take into account that whilst you might have your tax structured better than most, you do still put more money back into the economy than most through the purchase of luxury goods?

Chantel, UK,

Warren is free to send in extra income if he wants as previously stated. The fact that "anybody" rich or poor would have to give the government 1/3 of its earned income is ludicrous! It amounts to theft as they reach in to my pockets to give it to someone else (read Walter Williams columns for more insight). Social Security is a sham. Its a "low-yield" investment for us but a high dollar machine for the federal government. Flat tax works, and a use tax could work if done properly. We threw tea in the harbor over 6% tax to the British king. Why do we allow this robbery to continue? We need to define clearly what the Federal Government's responsibilities are and then allocate them the money to accomplish that (Same for state government). Everything else should be kept in my pocket. I worked, and I earned it, so I should keep it and decide what to do with it. We don't believe in property rights anymore, so the government thinks its all their property.

Erik, Katy, TX

Warren Buffet calls himself LUCKY for being in the top 1% of income earners? He gives himself no more credit than that? Nothing about hard work, risk taking, sacrificing current pleasure for the long term goal? This is classic Hillary Clinton philosophy.

What about making changes as proposed by conservatives-- the "fair tax" (consumption)?

Liberals amaze me by saying that conservatives seek to control people's minds and liberties. Liberals will control people's minds and liberties by first controlling their pocketbooks. Liberals will put everyone on the dole! Over 50% of the population is now on the dole. Which half are you in?

Termite, Greenwood, VA

Tax the rich 60% and the poor 10%. Tax wealthy estates by 80% and make all education and hospitals free. Build lots of social housing with low rents so that families can stick together and function normally.

Buffet....you are a treasure, a hero with a heart.

Sam, Scotland,

Warren could give his $50billion to the gov't and let them re-distribute it. He can also talk the other rich elitists such as kennedy and rockefeller and edwards into donating their millions.

Oh, I forgot, Dems tell others what to do but don't expect them to do it themselves.

He is a Liar if he stated that $60K is hit with 30%.

Bob Kochensparger, Atlanta, GA, US

Everyone here is living in a fantasy world. Buffet's point is a good one - the super rich don't pay enough tax. Is everyone posting here a billionaire as well? I suspect that all the anti-Buffet posters would be quite happy to pay less tax, which is what Mr. Buffet is proposing.

jim frost, new smyrna beach, floridA

I have an idea; why don't we all get taxed at the same rate? Bill Gates, George Bush, you, me and the cleaning lady too. All of us get taxed at the same rate and none of us has any loop holes to jump through or write-offs. One flat rate governs us all.

Bill Dobson, Atlanta, Georgia

The current income tax system is junk. It should be sent to a landfill and re-organized as a VAT or salestax system. Fair Tax!

Stan M, evans, ga

Buffett doesn't pay less in taxes, he pays a lower tax rate. In actual taxes he pays many times the amount of his secretary. Why should Buffett have to pay more taxes than his secretary when both probably used about the same cost in government services? That's not fair. The progress income tax is the most tyrannical element of America today. It should be scrapped in favor of user fees and national security tax. Elitist like Buffett are disgusting. They just want to use other people's money to buy off their own guilt about perceived inequality. He needs to grow up.

Nick, Austin, Texas

Did anyone tell Mr. Buffet he can pay as much as he likes to the IRS? That's right, my brothers & sisters, you can pay over and above the minimum amount you owe as much as your little heart desires. So whip out that checkbook, Mr. Buffet, and quit whining. PAY MONEY to the government until you feel better.

Dave, Fairfax, VA

Warren if you feel that you did not pay enough taxes then BY ALL MEANS pay what you feel is fair but LEAVE THE REST OF US ALONE!

JB, Indppls, IN

Buffett is warning the rich to beware, as those below will and do revolt. He wrongly believes that Clinton will seek to amielorate the class divisions. Buffett is not stupid enough to believe that class conflict ended in 1989.

heiko khoo, London, uk

It might be about time to start this mess over....

The Janitor, Middleclass, USA/TX

This notion of making judgements by comparing relative payments expressing taxes paid as a PERCENT of total income is as bogus as the day is long!!!!

According to the data given, Buffett still paid $8,142,000, whereas his secretary paid $18,000 ..... or if you persist in using percentages..... his secretary paid less than one percent (to be precise - 0.22%) of what he paid. Or said another way, he paid 452 times as much as his secretary.

J. Pehoushek, Sun City Center, FL

Warren Buffet grew up in the same part of the country as my wife's parents, and her uncle invested in Berkshire Hathaway in 1970, remaining good friends with him till this day.

Warren has philanthropically donated billions, remember last years' announcement?

Also, he still usually takes a brown bag lunch to work.

The man is worth listening to. Funny, he is saying now what we have all been saying for 10 years.

Phil Kousoubris, Newton, MA, USA

You people are not getting the point- first Warren Buffett DOES give to charity- he is one of the biggest philanthropists in the world along with Bill Gates. TWO his point here is about *fixing* the system- all of you are advocating he just GIVE more money to the government than they ask, but what will that do? That is not a solution to fixing the core of the problem he is pointing at, which is that we have a tax system and government that favors the super-wealthy, lets them get away with paying less taxes than the middle classes that do not have the same resources, and hence puts the burden on the middle class.
Giving to charity is great, and he does that in mass amounts, but it does not fix a system that is putting the burden on the majority of us that makes about what his cleaning lady makes in a year. That is what he is advocating here.

M. Ortiz, Des Moines, Iowa

I am for everyone paying an 18% tax rate period no deduction period. Or maybe 5% on the first 20K and 18% tax rate on the rest. KISS keep simple stupid!! Most rich people like this system cause it keeps the poor and middle class in their place. Instead of allowing them to move up and be rich. But if we did that then people wouldn't need big government in the first place. If you love this system just wait till AMT comes by in effect for those rich people making 50-75K per year. You should a big thank-you note to Warren Buffett

Robert E. Circle, Sterling, Va

If Buffet was paying more in taxes do you think that he would be giving so much money to charity?
Seems to me that the lower tax rate allows him to decide where his money should go and thus stops government bureaucracy from growing larger and siphoning more and more money off of the top. Less money going to bureacrats = more money going to where it is needed.

lyle, Houston, Tx

If Warren Buffet is taxed 17.7%, then his secretary and cleaner should also be taxed 17.7%. It's only fair.

Bill, las vegas, usa

Mr. Buffett:
The IRS code requires a minimum payment, but allows one to pay as much as one wishes. "Our" goverment NEVER refuses money. Donate $51,999,000,000 to the US goverment. Make 6% on the remaining million and earn the same $60,000 you pay your secretary. Then see if you change your mind. If you would spend more time doing what you used to do well and less time with Hillary, my Berkshire Hathaway stock would be beating the S&P 500 index.

Karl, cincinnati,

Those who argue that Buffet can and should pay more may have lost sight that this is a very good man. He is rich, yet he does not seek extra tax benefits as do most Republicans. More importantly, you have forgotten his pledge of $30B to the Gates Foundation, which will do immense good for those who are struggling.

Van, Honolulu, Hawaii

HELLO!! Reverse the thought process here. Instead of raising the taxes on the richest, LOWER the taxes on the less fortunate AND raise the taxes on the richest.

Duh...

Frank, San Diego, CA

Buffet and readers could have looked at it another way and advanced the revolutionary idea of LOWER taxes (i.e., smaller government) for his secretary rather than he paying more.

Alan Wald, Dulles, VA

I cant imagine that I am actually saying this but Warren Buffet sounds like an idiot. Those thirty million families that he said would pay $1000 more probably dont pay any federal income taxes. Giving them a $1000 tax break would have zero effect if they dont pay any taxes. The top one percent of wage earners are paying a huge tax bill(and in many cases a large percentage of their net worth) unless you are Warren Buffet and your income comes from long term capital gains. Why wasnt he complaining about this over all the years he was using the capital gains tax advantage to build his enormous wealth? He never invest in businesses he does not understand...he should zip his lips on topics he apparently does not understand......

Barry, Atlanta, Ga

The FACT is that the top 1% income earners in the USA are paying more than 33% of federal revenue. The top 25% are paying over 85% of federal revenue. (go ahead- verify it)

If Warren is bothered about his secretary being taxed too much then he must be in favor of another tax cut! The last one INCREASED in federal revenue more than anyone expected so another one might increase revenue even more?

Conservatives demand lower taxes to stimulate the economy and increase federal revenue per the Laffer curve. Liberals demand higher taxes for one reason only - to hold more power over us. Always remember that!

Mike, Boston, USA / Massachusetts

If Warren Buffet is so concerned about the federal treasury bureaucracy, sucking up even more money out of the private economy, including his own, there's nothing from stopping him (except for himself so that he can continue whinninng) from donating his own money, into this huge wasteful government elephant.

Benny, Fairfield, USA/California

Warren can redistribute his wealth anytime he likes! Bill Gates has shown that it can be done!

keep the government and politics out of this

Kevin Martin, atlanta, ga

WAIT!!! Dave Schoen, Ron Plaza, JQuig - Warren Buffett DID give away the money - don't you read? But he is the .01% sainted exception. The Walmart kids happily take their 17% without thinking twice about their secretaries' 35%, and what have they done for society? None of you suggests the system is fair - it's not. American democracy was founded on the idea that the system strives to be fair. If the inequities remain too extreme (as they already are), the poor lose the incentive to cooperate with the system. Failure to strive towards a fair system sows the seeds of revolution, as seen in Venezuala, Bolivia, etc.

BrianB, San Francisco, CA

www.fairtax.org

Nunya, Indianapolis, IN

There's nothing stopping Mr. Buffett or all the other limousine liberals from writing a check to the Federal government for the amount they think they should pay.

Freda Lavey, Fargo, ND

If Buffett is so upset, why doesnt he just pay more in taxes? He pays 17.7% because he takes deductions, etc - so, why not just pay 50% of everything he earns, and simply fire the accountant? The liberal hypocrisy is almost sickening...

And another thing - the man makes $47 mil a year, and pays his secretary $60K!? Give me a break.

Alan, Philadelphia, PA

I don't know where Warren gets his tax fugures from. A single person earning $60,000 pays abut 15.4% federal income tax (not 30%). Additional FICA tax is paid but all of that is returned later in one's retirement years. Yes, Warren would pay about 15% federal income tax if all of his income came from long-term capital gains and that is his reward for investing wisely. He could have lost all of his invested money.

George Stormont, Walnut Creek, CA

Warren who makes Billions of dollars only pays his personal executive secretary $60,000 a year! What a cheap-skate. He wants the government to take more from him to give to her! That's wealth redistribution and says it's ok for the governement to take from one person and give it to someone else whether they earned it or not. Why not eliminate the Middle man and get rid of the IRS, that way Warren doesn't need the govt. to give her back some of her money, he can just pay more for the services of his employees and they'll keep more. See my earlier response for tax policy. He's cheap and a hypocrite!

Erik, Katy, TX

Fair Tax (www.fairtax.org) <---- best thing going.

The wealth gap keeps widening because the rich keep doing what made them rich – and the poor keep doing what keeps them poor.

Levi Boyd, Arlington, VA

Liberals should understand that there is no obligation for a person to help another. Income taxation is simply a liberal's way to force high earners to help low earners by subsidizing their lives. Such compulsory charity is completely unjust, because no one is obligated to lift a finger to help anyone else.

What we need is libertarianism in its purest form, or anarcho-capitalism. A just world would not require anyone to help another, and we'd have a social darwinistic Hobbesian jungle with a ruthless survival-of-the-fittest form of capitalism. Everyone for himself. Ban welfare, social security, medicaid, and all other social welfare programs that constitute redistribution (i.e. forced charity). All taxes should be replaced with user fees for government services, so that people only pay for the resources they USE, and not for what ANYONE ELSE uses. No one gets more from the govtthan they pay for, and no one pays more to the govt than they receive in services. THAT'S justice.

Ben, NYC, USA

Republicans typically want to know how the governement will protect their property and wealth (i.e. lower taxes); Democrats generally want to know how the government will protect their civil liberties. As a well paid professional I would prefer my 'inalienable' civil liberties over my wealth. Tax me more if you can guarantee those liberties.

Jack, Lisle, IL, USA

Talk is cheap. Tell Mr. Buffet to take those millions and start doing things for America's needy. He can't take any of it with him.

Richard Gauntt, Palmer, Alaska

I do not believe for a moment that Buffet's cleaning lady pays more in taxes per dollar earned than he does. It's important to note that he made these comments at a Democratic fundraiser for Hillary Clinton (whatever happened to Republican fat cats?), where facts give way to rhetoric.

Joseph, Phoenix, USA

Apparently math is not a strong point for most of this crowd. Too bad. Most of this crowd seems to be fairly successful. As a member of that cohort (I'm an investment banker and own 3 businesses.) I personally *like* good roads, good schools and economic systems that have clear & fair paths up the ladder. These are tough things to get when the game is stacked in the favor of the 'haves', which it is right now. Warren's right. The system has got to come back into balance. 'Trickle down' was a great campaign slogan, but it was never a good or fair economic policy and now we've 20 years worth of evidence to prove it. Free markets are brainless, mindless things that only do one thing well, and that's grind towards efficiency. Unfortunately, many children & old people find themselves as grist in this mill. Times up. Let's try something else.

Kevin Johansen, Denver,

Warren should deal with his guilt in psychotherapy instead of public policy.

Kevin Flanagan, Fargo, Nd.

taxes should be levied at the same rate for everyone that is to say 30% across the board otherwise you end up with a system that is unfair
the big lie that the rich will invest in jobs for the poor if they paid only half the tax rate of the middle class is a lie and those that believe it are blind deaf and dumb
as with free trade it was suppose to be good for everyone it too is a lie the rich sent the jobs overseas and to mexico
but we still have the bllind deaf and dumb beliving otherwise
there is a revolution coming and the rich because of their actions will not do well in its wake
how does taxing the rich at 17% and the poor at 30%
while the U.S. govt. is in the hole for trillions of $ work
that the democrats want to raise taxes isnt new what is however appaulingly clear is that no matter which party wins the next election America is done for the lobbyists have killed democracy the govt. is against the people and its past due date for a bastille day

dave, montreal, canada

Kong Kek Kuat, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is completely off base with just highlighting numbers becuase the effect that 177K has on someone making 45 mil a year is FAR LESS than the 3500 they took from the 60K per year worker. How naive can one be?

Cos, Long Island, NY

Finally one of the elite who has the guts to tell the truth. And by the way the guy from the third world country -- Malaysia just doesn't get it. Maybe that's why Malaysia with all the resources it has most of the people are dirt poor. Money corrupts and the motivational greed to join that group is obscene and disgusting.

Steve b, San Diego, CA

As someone who greatly respects Mr. Buffett I am saddened that he would make such a populist statement that does more to decieve than to clairify. Maybe he did pay only 17.7% of his income, didn't he also give away something like 35 BILLION to the Gates foundation last year? And how is it possible for someone making 60K a year to pay 30%? By my calculation, using the federal tax table and not even taking a personal exemtion she would of paid $11,557.50 or 19.1% of her income. Did she have 19K in penalties? The numbers just don't add up.

Bud Schmauss, Crystal Lake, Il

Obviuosly Mr. Buffett's secretary should find a new tax preparer. If she is paying 30% federal taxes on 60,000 income something is terribly wrong. Mr. Buffett should check his facts.
He is also free to pay as much in taxes as he likes. Let him put his own wallet where his mouth is.

Bill Lacouture, Bridgewater, USA/MA

Flat tax rate, control govt. spending, control immmigration, and other common sense things would help reduce expenditures so we could eliminate the need for more taxes. The inheritance tax does need to go because because there is a death tax as well.

Joe, joesville,

Why is the government deserving of any of our tax dollars? They do more harm than good for the country. There's never been a government program that was implemented that solved the problem for which is was created. It merely sucks more money out of citizens.

Tim, Phoenix, AZ

Mr Buffett is speaking with a forked tongue. To get around the estate tax, he has put his fortune, or most of it, into a "charitable foundation" that gives its money outside of the United States. This is OK, if that is what he wants, but he has no right to tell other people what to do with their money, or suggest that the government should raise the taxes of thye wealthy. He should be urging fiscal restraint by the Government.

John Clarke, Breckenridge, Texas

It's just political rhetoric. If Buffet paid 17% of $46 million that's $8 million in taxes vs $18,000 his secretary paid. Who's' paying more taxes?

David Bailey, Atlanta, GA

What he said was he was taxed at the same RATE!

John , Washington, DC

Raising taxes is never the answer. Why would anyone want to force others to pay more taxes?? It doesn't make sense. Why, because misery loves company? The fallacy in this argument is that some believe just because "the rich" will pay more, that somehow "the poor" will pay less. BS. The rich will simply be adding more to the kitty to pay for more bridges named after senators.

If we want to improve the disparity between the everyday Joe and the outragously overpaid CEOs out there, I would call for a salary cap. The highest paid salaries within a business cannot exceed 200% of the average salary for the company. If the CEO wants a raise, then everyone else gets a raise as well.

Jason, Baltimore, MD

Mr. Buffet fails to explain how his circumstance exists. But most would agree a lot of people waste a lot money trying to ensure they pay the correct amount of taxes so Uncle Sam doesn't put them in jail. In addition to that, Uncle Sam employs thousands to ensure that we pay the correct amount of taxes. A complete waste of money and talent.

The USA should disgard the Federal income Tax and replace it with a Federal Sales Tax that excludes food & clothing. Some states already have this system in-place and it works very well. This simplifies the system and provides hundreds of thousands of non-productive Federal and private sector employees a chance to be contribute to society.

Dan, Unionville, USA

Perhaps he might consider a regressive tax, i.e. pay less as a percentage as we earn more. Imagine if businesses were run by rewarding idle employees and punishing achievers.
- A 32K yearly citizen

Bennett, Dallas, TX

To all those that blast Warren for not sending in extra to the treasury you are forgetting that he already has it tied up somewhere else.

"In June 2006, Warren Buffett announced plans to contribute approximately 10 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (worth approximately USD 30.7 billion as of June 23 2006) making it the largest charitable donation in history."

I think he can say whatever he likes. Go Warren!

Patrick, Durham, NC

The tax code is aimed at people who have jobs. Sadly, the high mighty are full of hot air and zero action. Buffett needs to get off his sanctimony and start doing what he fusses about. In Virginia, we have a state account which allows people to send money to the government if they don't feel like they have paid enough taxes. After 5 years, it has collected $17,000. Pathetic. Buffett is a hypocrite along with all the other high handed liberal elites saying do what I say not what I do.

mac, Virginia Beach,

Mr. Buffett doesn't have to write a $52B check to the government, he can start his only $52B charity, or write $1B checks to 52 of his favorite charities. Wealth doesn't flow from governments...government is an expense that we fund to regulate our lives and provide services we need. I support lower taxes for ALL. Government is overfed and needs to be starved, it will always spend every dime it is given and demand more. Every plan to "tax the rich," ends up on the backs of the middle class, (i.e. the 1969 Alternative Minimum Tax [AMT], the 1990 Luxury Tax). A Flat Tax applies the same tax rate over all taxpayers, no loopholes, no tax avoidance. Here's another idea to manage your wealth problem Mr. Buffett, refuse the large salary, dividends, and stock options...but please just shut up about your government mandated wealth redistribution plans...the middle class can't afford it.

Cliff, NYC,

Man, no wonder some of you guys voted for Bush. Your reading comprehension is way off. The man is pointing out a flaw in the system. He made $46 million last year. His tax rate was 17% without him searching for loopholes. His secretary makes $60 thousand. She paid 30%. The Bush tax cuts for the middle class i.e the secretary are a smoke screen. The secretary paid 18k in taxes. If she had Buffet's rate she would have paid $10,200 in takes. I'm sure that secretary needed that extra $8k. Mr. Buffet on the other hand paid $7.8 mil in taxes. If he had his secretary's rate he would have paid $13.8 mil. 8K more in taxes hurts the secretary more than the extra $6mil hurts Mr. Buffett who is a billionaire. Anyone who can't see that the Bush tax cuts are smoke and mirrors is drinking the kool aid.

oc, Duluth, US/GA

I am a retired person living on a pension and social security. Mr. Buffett must think all US citizens are idiots. I just love it when a guy with $52 Billion tells me just how much he understands the poor. Why doesn't Mr. Buffett take $50 billion of his $52 billion and give $1,000 to 50 million poor familes. I'm sure he could get by nicely on $2 billion. No, Mr Buffett's plan is to take someone elses money and give it to the government. His money is all in tax free investments as shown by his example between his secretary and himself. Right now 25% of the US citizens pay 85% of the income taxes. The suggestion that the solution lies in taxing the 25% even more is surely not the answer. Having the goverment determine how to spend the money is even worse. How many more bridges to nowhere do you really want? The solution is in having the goverment spend less. If Mr Buffett really feels guilty and doen't want to give his money to the poor he can always give it to the government at tax time.

Dennis Byrne, Grand Junction, CO

The Federal tax on $60,000 of taxable income was $9,352. This equates to a overall rate of 15.5% on 60,000. This would be for a single person. It sounds like he just made his statement for political purposes and not objective analysis. If we are talking marginal rates, her incremental rate would be 25%
DT CPA

Dennis Treger, Bremerton, Washington

The comments here are borderline moronic. "He can pay as much as he wants?" News flash: Taxes aren't voluntary. A receptionist making $50k / year pays 25% + 7.65% tax on the next dollar she earns. 32.65% of the next dollar she earns will go to tax. If her pay goes up, the tax rate on this earned income goes up too.
Those who are supporting the status quo here demonstrate that they're wholly ignorant on the taxation system in their own country. Buffett is not in a 35% tax bracket, he's in a 15% tax bracket because his income is unearned. In contrast to the receptionist, the next share of Berkshire Hathaway that Buffet sells will be taxed at a rate of 15%.
No one has yet explained why an investor should pay the same tax for $2 in unearned income that a worker pays for $1 of wages.
This country was created by work - not trust funds. Educate yourselves, fellow americans.

Jeff M, Montesano, WA

James Taggert? Wesley Mooch?

Adam, Canfield, Ohio

How can he say he paid "less" tax than his secretary? By my calculations he paid $8.14 million in taxes and his secretary only paid $18,000 before deductions. She only paid .002% of what he paid. Sure the rate might be lower but the tax bill is a heck of a lot bigger. If he wants to give HIS money to the poor go ahead, but to force other hard working Americans to pay for the misfortune of others through a government run wealth distribution scheme is just insane. What do most rich people do with their money anway, they spend and they re-invest it into businesses and investments, further spurring the economy. His 17.7% tax bracket is the reason our economy is kicking butt right now. Individual Americans donated 300 Billion last year to charities, yeah with a "B". And that was before taxes. And there are still poor people, go figure.

Dominic, Anaheim, CA

What's confusing to me is how Mr. Buffet comes to the conclusion he needs to vote for Democrats in order to pay his fair share of taxes when it is conservatives, and Republicans who propose a move tot he Flat Tax whereby he and his cleaning lady and his receptionist would pay the same rate of taxation - but only on income above a certain level which various proposals have at somewhere between $18-35,000/yr. This Democrats very much opposed and still do - yet its exactly what Mr. Buffet suggests is needed.

And on the death tax - its not an income tax, its an asset tax whereby government asserts a prior claim to a percentage of your assets on your death - before your family. Morally its problematic. I wouldn't support it for his secretary nor his cleaning lady nor himself and I think if Mr. Buffet was to be consistent in his view and is seeking fairness in the tax code, he would have to retract his argument on the death tax or impose it on everyone.

Pax et bonum

Brian J. Byrne, Jr., Alexandria, VA

This is the same Warren Buffet who uses the foundation system to avoid taxes. Foundations are the inventions of tax accountants which allow the super-rich to avoid taxes using the cover of philanthropy. There is no law which requires Buffet not to pay taxes on any money he gives to foundations. He chooses to take advantage of the laws which allow him to voluntarily decide whether he wants to pay taxes or not.

GEORGE MOSS, COLUMBUS, OHIO

No offence to other posters, but when one of the most successful businessmen in the world imparts some advice about running the country, people should listen.
The disparity between rich and poor in the US has got ridicluous. I was only in LA for 5 munites and was shocked. You either drive a BMW or a Lexus, own a mansion, or you are on minimum wage and live in the valley. Didn't seem much in between. Meanwhile the rich sees their house value skyrocket, their stock options shoot up, the poor get no pay rise for 10 years. If the wealth is not spread around a bit more, you are looking at huge future social unrest, thats how revolutions get started, a word I am hearing ever more frequently lately both in the US and UK.

cutty, brisbane, Australia

I don't believe Mr. Buffett is being hypocritical. But I do believe he is genuinely upset with U.S. federal income tax system. I could be completely wrong here, and this is a total assumption on my part, but I believe that if given the choice of having his taxes raised to 35% or having the tax rate of his cleaning lady lowered, Mr. Buffett would most likely choose to have his cleaning lady's rate reduced.

As many here have pointed out, Mr. Buffett understands the free market principle of allowing people to retain their money for the purposes of re-investing in capital projects as well as anyone on this board.

But he is right about it being ridiculous that his cleaning lady is taxed at 30%. I don't believe the men who wrote our U.S. Constitution ever expected Americans to be taxed at a rate of 30%. But again, this all supposition on my part.

AJ Trevino, Houston, USA

It is not the role of the government to support charities. If you understand the history of the Elizabethan Poor Laws, you throw away money when propping up the poor. (Give a man a Fish...)

If Buffett's point is to help the poor, don't rely on the government to do so. Continue to volunteer and donate.

Government bureaucracy is far less efficient than the charitable orgs out there. It would be more effective to cut taxes and allow people more money for donations. This plan will work in conservative states (as has been shown annually when studying philanthropy), but not so well in liberal state, who rely on the government to do their good works for them.

Liberals like Hillary bring Buffett on stage to point out how greedy the rich are; implying that this group is conservative. Instead, studies show it is the liberals who think of themselves first and must be forced through taxation to help the poor.

TJ's Anti-contrarian Blog, Glendale, Arizona

A flat 15 percent tax with no deductions and no excuses is the only fair way to tax income. Hell i would gladly add another 2 percent just for not having to fill out all those tax forms each year that noone understands. I would however prefer a consumption tax that would encourage savings . If limosine liberals feel the urge to donate more to the government then let them just don't try to make others join in their lunacy.

Dan, Rockwall, Texas

Buffet may know equities but he is ignorant of a lot. No one forces him to keeps his money as some have said. His guilt trip is designed to ease his conscience by forcing others to do what he thinks is right. A typical guilty liberal - "if you do this I wont feel so bad." Stop whining and send me my $1000.

If he wants to help why not reduce everyones tax rate to his tax rate. That's something that will help.

jim, chicago, il

This is all very simple to understand if one differentiates between taxing income versus wealth (assets). It's a higher marginal rate on incomes versus lower (long-term) capital gains rates on securities sold. Also, the very wealthy often shield income in tax-free municipal bonds. I resent the notion that my wife and I should pay at a higher rate because we earned over $200k, but well under $1 million. Mr. Blankfein "earned" 180 times more than us, he should volunteer to pay at least 180 times the taxes we paid ($18M).

I'm frustrated by politicians' attempts to lump those of us who earn $75K to $200K with the billionaires. We're certainly poor relative to them based on the disparity of wealth.

By the way, donating billions to a charitable foundation is NOT analogous to paying more to the government, one takes your money voluntarily, the other with full force. So Mr. Buffet if the government is worthy of more taxes, send your money to them, not the Gates Foundation!

Anthony Moreno, Lake Forest, IL

Randy, Brooklyn:

No they don't exactly have that tax break. The Queen, like everyone else, is entitled to inherit her family property. In exchange for handing the Crown lands, and their gigantic income, to the state, she accepts the relatively paltry civil list income for the main royals. It is a small percentage of what she could get if she, quite legally, took back control of the Crown estate. She is, one way or another, paying a large amount to the people of this country along with her time and devotion.

Prince Charles pays taxes on his income from the Duchy of Cornwall.

These incomes however pale into insignificance compared to the incomes of Buffet and his cohorts.

Paul, London, UK

This is correct.

Capital gains tax is 15%.

Payroll tax is about 12%, plus income taxes are in addition. The payroll tax is a hidden tax on workers. It mostly is paid by those workers, indirectly.

Buffet pays no such tax. His investments are taxed at 15% clean and simple. It is worth noting, however, that the top 1% pays the majority of tax revenue. The top 10% pays virtually all taxes.

Will, Minneapolis, USA

This "rich people create jobs" voodoo economics business is often quite silly. Sure, plenty of rich people do re-invest the money lucratively, but there are no guarantees that that money goes into US coffers, or will simply be invested abroad. Many of the tax breaks offered to the rich simply encourage them to do stupid things, like raise sheep or build houses on the beach.

Let's take the example of the secretary paying 60,000 dollars a year. Lessen her taxes, and what will she do with the remainder? Probably spend it on goods and services, which are also taxable, and creating jobs within the US economy.

And the question isn't one of absolute amounts but proportionality. Why should the very wealthy pay a smaller proportion of their total wealth than the middle-class? It smacks of unfairness.

These views on taxation have as much to do with the illusion of an American meritocracy as any real government benefit. Also, whoever said the treasury was "Swimming with cash" is just silly.

Andrew Fleischman, Roswell, GA

The FairTax plan would tax everybody equally on your new purchases not used items. Taxes would Not be collected on the saving or accumulation of your income.

For people under the poverty level they would get a prepate.

Brian P, N. Augusta, SC

I didn't realize that my years of homework in school, 4 years of college, then grad school, then working my tail off at several menial jobs until finally finding a willing employer, qualified me as "one of the luckiest" people on Earth. I suppose I should have played poker these last 30 years or so, then.

Or would that be Bridge?

FutureUser, Nashville, TN, USA

For the third richest man in the world to pay his secretary only $60,000 a year tells you a lot about the man. And does Mr Buffet want us to believe that during all the years he has been amassing his fortune, that he instructed his accountant not to take every deduction available. Tax avoidance is what you pay your accountants for. (I bet he paid his tax account(s) more then $60,000 a year) I'm sure Mr Buffit, a very smart and savy business man, paid as little in taxes as was "legally" possible.

Chris Cregan, Arlington, Virginia, USA

In response to the first comment he clearly is pointing out the percentage of his gross income that is taxed in comparison to that of his secretary. If coarse his overall tax payment in dollars will be higher. The problem is that there is a group that thinks paying 30m dollars in taxes from a 100m dollar gross income is exsessive. In my opinion it's just fair. The rich get richer. Did you know that when Larry Johnson left Albertsons as CEO they gave him money to cover the tax liability he had on his payout? Dissolve the IRS!!!

ES, Fullerton, Ca

Not even close Valentin. US stats for 2004 - top 1% paid 37% of income tax paid. Top 5% paid 57% and top 10%, 68%. Bottom 50% paid 3.3%. Income disparity may exist, but the country's bills are clearly paid by the wealthy.

Scott K, Scarsdale, NY

Flat tax 20%, eliminate IRS, anyone having over $1 billion when dead losses all of it to the state in which they live.

LJT, Elmhurst, IL

I don't think the tax code discourages Mr. Buffet from spreading his billions around to the poor does it? What do taxes have to do with the poor? It's not the government's job to take care that every bloomin' garbage collector gets a Buffet tax break so his ten kids (that he chose to have, by the way) can all have ipods. Americans are spoiled into thinking that someone else should fund government, and especially the US government. Pay up Brits. Buffet earned his mess of cash off capital gains. Nothing wrong with that.

d.dor, Jerusalem, Israel

Mr. Buffet.... Go write a check to the IRS for whatever extra percentage you want above the 17.7% you currently pay. I'll bet yu the IRS will cash that check without any hesitation.

Robert, Los Angeles, California

He is either lying or is not aware of how to calculate tax percentages. Under the 2006 tax code, there is no mathmatical way that a $60,000 income can be charged a 30% rate. Look it up and do the math yourself at www.irs.gov/formspub/article/0,,id=150856,00.html

Randy, Dawsonville,

It is nice for Buffet--who got rich paying taxes at much lower rates than I am forced to pay today--to want to punitively tax those trying to get ahead like him.

Where is his voluntary tax payment to the US treasury? He has structured his estate to avoid giving the treasury anything. That's what he thinks of government?

We should take his views on valuing bonds, and ignore his self-centered views on taxing those not as wealthy as himself.

Delbert, Cleveland, Ohio

According to the IRS website, the top one percent of earners pay over thirty percent of income tax revenues; the top five percent pay over half the revenue; the top 25% pay over 95% of the revenue. To say the in the US, as in pre-Revolution France, the rich are 'exempt' from taxes is ludicrous! I guess we should just exempt the bottom 75% of earners from paying any taxes, and let the top 25% bear the cost of government. That, too, is ludicrous, and stupid. What we need is a flat tax -- a fixed percentage of gross income across the board -- to get the government out of the 'social engineering' business (rewarding certain behaviors with tax breaks). That would make every person pay a share of the cost of government, regardless of how small that share may be. Maybe then more p[eople would sit up and take notice of how much these 'free' government services cost. Of course, the Democrats would never stand for that -- it would take away their voter base!

Robert H, Greenville, MS

The bogus part of his staement is when he says he paid the lower rate "without trying to avoid paying higher taxes." What he really means is he didn't do anything extrordinary AFTER THE FACT to reduce his taxes. He made many, many decisions prior to that point that would insure lower rates. He could take all his profits in Berkshire Hathaway in the form of salary if he really wanted to pay his "fair share." He could pay more if he really wanted.

Patricko, Madison, WI

Mr. Buffett is correct in what he is saying about the US tax system. The problem is that too many Americans (see your comments) believe in the pyramid scheme that is capitalism and believe in the tooth fairy (I too can be incredibily wealthy if I just work hard enough). So long as people believe in myths and legends, wealthy politicians and individuals will be able to stand proudly on the backs of the poor and almost poor in the US proudly proclaiming as Mr. Buffett says "I am maing x amount, God must have intended me to have a lower tax rate". The US as a society has decided that we will make obtaining and having wealth evidence fo a worthy person. The result is that those without wealth or the means to obtain it, are unworthy, bad or evil. For those who don't have wealth, not only are they struggling to survive but they must deal with the societal view that they are solely responsible for their lack of wealth and are immoral to boot.

susan goolsbee, Arlington, washington

So Buffet pays $8,142,000. and his secretary pays $10,800. in taxes and Warren Buffet believes that he's not paying his fair share and she's paying too much..... hmmm, Why doesn't he just go ahead and kick in another $10k and tell his secretary it's on him and leave the rest of us out of his absurdity?

Jackie Thomas, Phoenix, USA, Arizona

I agree with Brock Landers of Seattle-
Maybe his secretary should have had somebody else do his/her taxes.Just a quick run through TurboTax(Standard deduction)on 60K(AGI) gave me 47K taxable income,$8489 fed tax due at 14.15%! or insert minium wage($7.25) income $16,120 AGI(40 hr week X 52) and I got $7670 taxable income,$774 taxes due at 4.8%
When do you think was the last Warren sat down and did his own taxes? 17.7 % on 46 million -if my calculator is correct thats $8,142,000 I can see why Hillary likes him

John, Riverside, CA

As an employee of one of the companies he owns, I would love to get more than a 4% raise every year, as the cost of living in my area exceeds that annually. I've helped to save thousands of dollars for the company , but have been told there's no money for bonus or merit increases. Hell I'd be happy the make the 60 grand he's paying his secretary!

Jennifer, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

It's sad that so many herring fishermen from the Red Sea have taken the time to comment here. After reading 70+ comments, of which the vast majority say that Buffett should just pay more, it's apparent that the import of what he is saying has been lost.
Even if Buffett did exploit the system, and even if contrary to his statements in the article, he did work to avoid paying taxes, this is in no fashion falsifies his observation: there is a problem with the current US tax code.
Making the rich richer by shrinking the middle class, which is what is currently happening, is what he is trying to stop.
People paying more taxes as they get wealthier will not hinder them from becoming wealthier. They still have more. However, unregulated capitalism is not going to result in anything other than what happened in the 19th century in the US. Or what is happening in Brazil now.

Nokia, Seattle,

The rich do not pay taxes at all.
A rich person usually got rich by providing a product or service and sold it to others.
Part of the price he charges is the taxes he expects to pay on his income.
If you cut taxes, the person setting the price of whatever is being sold will have to cut the price in order to remain competitive.
Cut taxes and make our exports more competitive.
Bottom line is whenever we buy anything, we are paying more to cover someones elses taxes, just like they do when they buy what we sell or make.

Tom Barker, Garden City, Mi. USA

Why not bring back the flat income tax with no deductions so everybody pays the same rate. Even when we had a flat tax those on low incomes were exempt from paying income taxes so that argument doesn't hold water. Giving to charities, while tax deductible, has been highest in relationship to the percentage of income among those with lower incomes.

Jim, Fairview Heights, IL

Incredible to hear comments along the lines of, "Why doesn't WB put his money where his mouth is, etc."

WB last year agreed to give the largest charitable gift in history - £37billion - to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.

This is 85% of his fortune, and he started paying this last July. I'm sure his conscience is clear.

Adrian, Windsor,

Why does Buffet not just pass out money then. Why does he need to get the government to get involved, he can pass out money on his own and get a tax break on it. For someone who has made so much money from a lack of government control, why would he want to get the government more involved. I think he should take responsibility for what he feels is important and not try to give our government more power.

James Hunt, Arlington,

If we want a fair tax system and the goverment says they need $2 trillion for their annual budget and we have 300 million people in this country then every man, woman, and child alive owes $6,667. That IS fair. That is and equal tax system if there ever was one. And if you want to have 10 kids, YOU pay the taxes for them, not me. After all, we all use about the same amount of government. Let's quit making taxes relative to income and make it more proportionate to government services used!

F. Airness, Dallas, TX

To answer the first angry conservative, Mr. Buffet pays less than the 35% tax rate on his income because he (like most of the very wealthy) earns most of his income through capital gains, which are only taxed at 15%, thanks to President Bush. To answer the other angry conservatives, Mr. Buffet could very well volunteer to send the government more money, but that would do nothing to address the problem at hand: a system that exacerbates a growing divide between the very wealthy and the rest of us, while either not providing the traditional government services that contribute to quality of life, opportunity, and a level playing field, OR providing them while going into a massive debt that will be shouldered by our children and grandchildren. The selfishness of some conservatives is mind-boggling. God forbid we should deny a billionaire of a couple of extra millions--let the next generation pay for Bush's war.

Dane, Albuquerque, NM

Taking more money from those who contribute the most to society and giving it to those who contribute less to society produces more people who contribute less to society and less people who contribute more to society. Tax the poor, it will be an incentive for them not to be poor.

Tom B, chicago,

Kong kek kuat..., If you look at the math that you came up with, after taxes Buffett still has 823,000 to save or spend, the secretary would have 6500... That's not enough to pay rent/mortgage and have food for a year. So yea, Buffett is paying more. And it is a given fact that the rich pay less taxes than the poorer, just research it from the last 5 years.

rufus, Chicago, IL

If he is so intent on raising taxes--why does he fignt a proposal to have corporate jets pay more in airport fees to bring them more in line with commercial air traffic? It's simple it would hurt his bottom line since he is the owner of a corporation that deals in corporate and shared ownership of private jets. Practice what you preach Warren.

jane, glastonbury, ct

Hmmm, maybe the world's greatest investor should go out into the markets, buy $100M worth of the highest yielding government bonds (read debt) and send them by armored car to the bureau of the public debt telling them to retire it. Heck, he could do this once a quarter and not break a sweat.

Sorry-a very rich hypocrite.

Ed Sawyer, Los Angeles, CA

raise the capital gains percentage from 15% to 35%? yeah, that might not be a big deal if you make 30 million dollars a year... but for the rest of us average joe's who put our money into the stock market - it slices what little profits we make in half... while raising the rate from 15% to 35% will help tax the "rich" - it will also hurt the rest of us who are just trying to get by...

Brett Gozdeck, San Francisco, CA

1. Hey, Warren, just pay in the 30% of your personal income every year, and take every cent of the assets you have squirrled away in trusts and expose it to the full death tax; you'll do it, huh!

2. Force all your managers to pay what your conscience dictates; that'll keep them, huh!

3. Instruct Berkshire Hathaway accountants to pay 30% or more on the group's income from here on. Also instruct them to make an inflation adjusted contribution for all prior years of "social" income taxes that you failed to pay; you'll do it, huh!

4. Pass on that message to the analysts who bid up your stock, and then keep repeating that Berkshire's business is about luck, not skill, and how owning your stock and buying your products is a gamble.

Tim, St. Louis, MO

Boy are you guys missing the point, it's not a question of Mr. Buffet sending in extra taxes. It's about everyone paying thier fair share, why should the wealthy be taxed 17% and the rest of us be taxed 30%. And yes if you make $60,000 you pay $20,000 in taxes, I do it every year. The fact that someone thinks it is impossible, just shows how out of touch wealthy folks are with the way the rest of us have to live.

Aviad, Royersford, PA

Anyone that believes that they are undertaxed has an easy remedy. One can always overpay IRS. IRS gladly accepts overpayments without penalty. It is the epitome of arrogance to sit in judgement of what others should pay in taxes. This is an arrogant old man that should shut up.

Dan Brinkman, fairview heights, illinois

Apparently most of the posters don't bother to stay current with the news. A year ago, Warren Buffett donated $37 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation. So Jason, how do you explain that?
And btw, I suppose you are aware that the income disparity between the rich and the poor is at the highest level since 1929.
I guess you also remember from history what happened then.
And you thnk our tax system is fair? I would imagine that most of the posters wouldn't come close to ever making 10% of what Warren Buffet makes.

Anne, Butler, KY

Look people, our tax system isn't designed for people who work for others. It's designed for those that take the risk and own a business. You want "FAIR", there is no such thing. Equal opportunity does not insure equal success. The closest thing to "FAIR" you are going to find is taxing their "LIFESTYLE" NOT THEIR INCOME!!! The majority of people don't make enough to take advantage of the tax breaks that the rich do. I live within my means, which means I don't have a big expensive house to write the interest off. I barely make the minimum deduction. For this I am penalized by a higher tax rate. John Linder has it right. For those who are uneducated regarding HR25 study it and you will understand.

Robert , Savannah, GA

Um, for those asking why Buffet just doesn't give his money away if he feels so strongly about income inequality, HE DOES... He's giving the bulk of his fortune ($30 BILLION) to the Gates Foundation to help the sick and poor.

Why are there so many people so eager to defend the legal tax laws for the top 1% of the population? If you are concerned that you may belong to that group, trust me, you don't.

C. Bowers, Brooklyn, NY

Warren Buffet made his money selling insurance policies to small business to pay the taxes on their estates when they die. Of course he wants the inheritance tax back. It gives him a great sale tool. Let's abolish the IRS and go to the fair tax, call your congressman today.

peter schwertz, New Orleans, LA

The only fair way to have taxes is through consumption and flat taxes. The more a person uses, the more they should pay. The flat tax would be based on income, however earned.

Don McCoy, Franklin, VA,

NOT: Institute a flat tax - A flat tax still taxes you on your income. Flat Tax stifles savings which is necessary for retirement and income accumulation. Europe’s Flat Tax taxes products every step of in the production process. A Flat Tax will not draw the outsourced production and jobs back into the USA. The FairTax will eliminate the TAX imbalance between the USA and our competitors.

Brian P, N. Augusta, SC

......he is writing a $51 billion check to charity when he dies.

J, Washington, DC

Why does'nt Warren donate his money to the US treasury if he thinks he does not pay enough tax? There is no law to prevent him from doing this and he can afford to pay more.
He would never do that. His whole point is to make everyone else pay!

Ray, H, Chicago,

Most people would thank their tax attorney and CPA and move on. I'm sure he paid more for them than he did his secretary. Maybe, he should pay his secretary more or pay the tax attorney and CPA to do his taxes. If he feels he is cheating the gov't, he can always pay extra taxes. OR, he could SHUT UP! and put the money he saved towards benefitting his commnunity.....the last thing we need is for the gov't to think they are not taxing us enough.

jeff, Cedar hills, Utah

I don't know. I think we should be happy that someone is making a point of this injustice, especially a person who is gaining from this injustice. Could he donate his money to the government? Sure, but that wouldn't help us. The government needs to change how they tax. Plain and simple. I would say that the people "outraged" by his remarks are the ones not thinking it through. Thanks Warren for standing up and having a conscience. As they say, the first step to solving the problem is to admit that there is one.

Kelly, Omaha,

Liberals and people on entitlements who pay no taxes miss the point- the super rich are not undertaxed, it's the regular folks who are over taxed. If everyone paid the same fixed rate, then all would be fair and the US would have plenty of trevenue.

Liberals use the tax system to get votes-that's sick.

rick thomason, Burbank, CA

For somebody who's suppose to be so smart he sure is making dumb comments, maybe it's his age.

He regularly advocates hard work and relying on own's own abilitys to make decisions, but he sure sounds ready to pass the buck and let the government redistribute wealth. If he really wants to help someone out, he should do it, not abdicate to the government to do it.

I agree, we should all pay the same tax rate, too bad nobody inside the beltway believes this. fairtax.org

CH, SW, Virginia

It says "Mr Buffett said that he was taxed at 17.7 per cent on the $46 million he made last year"

That means he paid $8.1 million in taxes last year. He wants to pay more in taxes?

I guess I'll never understand the rich.

Dirk, Prescott, Arizona

Hmm,

46 million x 17.7% = 8,142,000

60 thousand x 30% = 18,000

I'd say that Mr. Buffet pays significantly more tax than his secretary.

Stu, Colorado Springs,

I love when the Euro's post their socialistic views...the catalyst of your descent.

Wes, Arkansas, USA

Marcus is right on... Mr. Buffet is free to overpay his taxes. Indeed, someone should ask him if his conscience compelled him to overpay.

If I was worth $52 billion, a few million here or there wouldn't be missed. But for those of us in the under $100K range, a few thousand here or there is a big deal (not to mention that less private investment threatens my job).

Another thing... how is it that Mr. Buffett, who clearaed $46 million last year, feels OK about the $60K he paid his secretary. How about his other employees... how are they doing?

Robert, Mission, KS

Do people here know anything about Warren Buffet??? He is the largest donater in the history of mankind, setting aside tens of billions of dollars to give to BIll Gates humanitarian fund. He gives money away. His speech was about the 99.99% of greedy, tight fisted rich losers who have such low self esteem that without money they are nothing.

Jason, Atlanta,

All those people complaining about Buffet are a disgrace. This man has done 10,000 times more good then anyone of those posting comments. He has pledged $37 billion to charity, what exactly have you done?

All he is doing is pointing out that it is not fair that the rich can end up paying less then the middle class. The way to fix this is not for one individual to send more money to the IRS, it is for the system to be changed.

RealityCheck, New York, USA

the tax rate on dividneds and LT capital gains is 10 to 15%. that's how he gets to a 17% effective tax rate.

michael, alexandria, va

Warren Buffet is being two faced. He would have never said something like that when he was beginning to accumulate his wealth. The tax breaks that allow him to pay 17.7% of his income are available to anyone who looks for them. The cleaning lady could run a cleaning company even if she was the only person working for it. Then she could write off all her expenses and probably pay next to no taxes. Employees are taxed more than business owners and that is the way it will always be. Business owners look for ways to reduce tax expense, employees don't. One could say ignorant people are taxed more than well informed people. How is that the government's fault? Teach that in middle school, don't raise taxes.

Thurston, Salt Lake City, UT

This stuff is stupid. Why does anybody care? I only read about it because I clicked the wrong link on Drudge Report. I'm going to hit the BACK button right now and look for that article about Paris Hilton.

Henry, Kansas City, USA/ MO

All personal income should be taxed at one flat rate for everyone, regardless of income amount. The tax code should be designed such that it is impossible to hide income or avoid paying taxes. The federal government should be reduced in size and managed in a fiscally responsible manner with considerable power and authority returned to the states.

Elwin J Buchanan, Winter Garden, FL

Come on Warren, stop being such a liberal. If your secretary earns $60,000 a year her federal taxes come to approximately $11,423 or 19%, and that's for the least favorable category. I guess by your logic if your secretary or cleaning lady earned more they would pay less in taxes - so give them a raise.

Shaun, Alexandria, USA/VA

Then why is it that our US politicians shy away from conservative Republican Steve Forbes call for a 'flat tax' (which exempts all earners under around $40,000us)? Lobbyists for accountants, tax attorneys and financial planners would never let them - that is why a system so simple would never be adopted.

Michael F, Ridgewood, USA/NJ

Mr. Buffet's criticism is correct, but the solution is not to stifle innovation and effort by over-taxing income and investment. The solution is to close loopholes used by rich individuals, corporations, and special interest groups - which are the result of the voluminous and labyrinthine US Tax Code. We need to abolish all income taxes, and substitute ad valorem or consumption taxes, with exemptions for government-designated foodstuffs. The "Fair Tax" proposal would be far, far better than what we have now. I am weary of governments using tax law to control my behavior.

Marty Smith, Marietta, Georgia

Wow, are you guys being harsh on old WB. The majority seem to be of the opinion that he should just pay in additional taxes if he feels he isn't contributing. That argument doesn't make any sense. What WB is trying to say is that the rich who can most afford to pay a tax rate equall to an average middle class Joe, pays a lower rate. When your are a middle class family, 30 percent of your income going out the door hurts more than WB paying less than 20 percent. What he is advocating is a more equitable percentage across the board. And for those that don't read the news, he dontated a majority of his wealth to the Bill Gates Foundation. He is a good man. And by the way, the average wage for a secretary is less than 30K a year, so he pays his secretary double...and I would bet she has some nice stock options in WB company. So to those calling him cheap...you have no idea of what your speak.

Rick, Minneapolis,

I just think he wants to have everyone pay very high taxes including himself. I think this because even if he gets taxed 100% of his $60 million last year, he would still be the richest man in the world and I think he would like to keep it like that. I don't hate the rich becuase maybe I could be rich, then I would not want people to hate me because Im wealthy.

Josh, Grand Terrace, Ca , USA!

Mr. Buffett,

At any time, you could send the government of the U.S. a check for 30% of your income. However, you choose to keep it and give money to a private charity (Gates Foundation).

Less government and greater private involvement in humanitarian causes such as relief to the poor is what we really need and what you truly believe.

How do I know? Your actions speak louder than your words.

do!, Glendale, AZ

What we need to do is go to a consumption or flat tax and elliminate all these tax loopholes the rich get to use.

Steve Potempa , Anthem, United States/AZ.

Ok pea brains, this is not about just dollars and sense, its about equal opportunity and percentage should be concidered as a percentage of livelyhood. In america every person should be afforded an opportunity to get on the plane and make something more out of their life. The greedy shallow thinking republicans of today are are the heirs of the wealthy who did nothing to earn the right to rise above the rest of us poor and middle class. I believe warren buffet sees america in this sense of equal opportunity and tax based upon the status of ones livelyhood.

Jason D., lewiston, Maine

I am always amazed at guys like buffet who complain about his tax bracket, but then all he has to do is give away all that he wants to whomever he wants, to spread the wealth around..you would think someone with half a brain would know that an individual can do much more to help give money to the poor or needy than the government can..if the government has a million to spend it will take a committee and two million to figure out what government official needs to get credit for "giving it to the needy..the more the government has the less goes to the needy.

lyle kerby, grantsville, wv

I am in the top 5% and earned $450,000.00 in 06. Having no
debts I have no deductions (most deductions are eleminated with incomes above $150.000) . Well, my Federal rate was
35%, which equals $157.000.00 plus 7% State. Mr. Buffet's
calculations are based upon "Dividend" income not regular income. His secretary is subject to the same tax he is on Regular Dividend Income and a lower rate my apply if she had a low level of earned income. He could at least have kept the tax rates in the same catagory!!. The real way the "Super Rich" avoid paying taxes is through "Family Charitable Trusts". After they set up one of these, whatever they put in is a 100% write off reducing their taxable income. They can still control the money, set up family members as employees or board members, do research and fly around the world and charge the trust. Now here is the one that really gets me "THEY ONLY HAVE TO DISTRIBUTE 5% PER YEAR!!!"
THIS IS THE REAL RIP OFF!!!!

TOM SMITH , oklahoma city, Oklahoma

Fair Tax is the answer. Let me determine my tax rate based on what I buy, not what I earn. If I eat hamburger vs. Steak I pay less.

K P, Brandon, Fl

Buffett is right on target. The tax structure in this country allows for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. The rich are the real power brokers in this country and as long as they can maintain the wealth, they will maintain the power. Why do you think they keep a lid on the growing interest in the fair tax doctrine?

tom thomas , atlanta , ga

There used to be a term called "noblesse oblige", the obligation that the rich owed to those who were poor or ill. And believe it or not, there are many who still believe in that obligation. Buffett just donated 50 Million US Dollars to charity, and many others have contributions to hospitals, schools and other charities. On the other hand there are many of the rich who won't donate a dime to a charity because the the charity would just "waste" the money. It would be very nice if some of those wealthy learned that phrase and what it stands for.

Dennis salenski, Syracuse, NY USA

People earning $60,000 are not in the 30% bracket - what kind of lies is he telling. Why doesn't he just give all his money to the government if he really believes what he's saying.

Jon Christiansen, Ladera Ranch, Ca.

I love how Buffet makes money by buying up small businesses that need to sell (sometimes firesell) themselves due to inheritance tax demands. Then he has the audacity to keep insisting on its absolute benevolence.

Brent, Fargo, ND

Whats up with all these attacks on Buffett? Its like shooting the messenger. Many miss the point of what these guys are saying about income inequality. When 80% of the money is owned by the upper 1% then who is going to buy their products and services? Can you say depression? This is what they are warnig about.

David, Doraville, Ga

If we can "write off" voluntary contributions to charity, why can't we write off involuntary contributions to charity... such as the billions the government sends to other countries which has had no positive effect whatsoever... not to mention, the government won't get that back.

The number one issue is not Iraq, Immigration, Health Care or Education. The number one issue is that we are taxed too much and we all need to start pressing our representatives to change this. Eliminate the income tax PERIOD.

Jason, Los Angeles, CA

The fact that Warren is backing Hillary Clinton shows how stupid his thinking is. She will tax everyone rich and poor.She will then give the money to those who do no work in our society.

Gene, bethesda,

How is paying more in taxes going to help his secretary. If anything he might give his secretary a paycut if his taxes go up.

Duke, Glendale, CA

Warren Buffet's father, who had well known libertarian views, must be rolling over in his grave.

Richard Young, Mapleton, UT

If you make $50 Million dollars in a year and give 20, 30, even 40 million of it to charities (which is what most decent rich people do), then of course they'd pay less as a percentage than someone making under $100K.

Plus, I doubt his facts are accurate on this. I've been tracking my percentage of income tax since I was making $40K several years ago and it has always been between 10% and 20% (TurboTax figures this out for you). If you add all the other taxes that you pay, then you can get up to 30%, but not easily. Add sales tax, social security tax, medicare tax, property tax, etc, etc.

Kevin Carbray, Evanston, USA, IL

If he feels so bad for his receptionist, pay her more. As for the inheritance tax stance, He donated all his money to charity upon death so he won't be paying any tax. Much of the donation goes to the Gates foundation, but 5 other charities will also receive a billion each; these charities are run by his kids!!!!!!! Go figure, just another rich guy telling us how to live but not doing it himself.

Big Papa, Batavia, IL

Your missing the point. It's a generic and ignorant response to say "no one is stopping him from writing a 10 million dollar check to the government". The whole arguement revolves around the fact that the U.S. government is irresponsible with tax payers' money. So you can write a 50 billion dollar check to the government and trust me they'll find a way to blow it. Just look at the billions in CASH they sent in crates to Iraq in freight ships. No accountability in this government.

BOB, Bethesda, MD

Leo Smith, your missing the point. Buffet is saying that the extremely wealthy are paying less percentage wise than someone earning say 60,000 per year. While Buffet still paid 8.1 million in taxes last year, that is a large number, but percentage wise the impact isn't felt to the same degree as the individual paying 18,000 in taxes out of their 60,000.

Dan Pozzobon, St. Catharines, Canada

To suggest that Mr. Buffett VOLUNTARILY send in more taxes is a stupid argument, and it misses the entire point. He is rich enough to have that choice, but for those of us who aren't, what are our choices? Certainly the rank and file don't have the discretionary cash to send in extra, and those who have it sure aren't likely to part with it.

Taxes are a necessary evil, unless you propose to go out and provide all the services they pay for yourself. However, they are unnecessarily complex, and certainly not equal in who gets taxed. It would be much simpler to just say, "OK, everyone pays X% of all income. Period, end of discussion." Yes the rich would pay more in taxes, but proportionally it would be the same.

The loopholes and shelters are there for the rich, plain and simple. How many loopholes exist for the majority of us? How many apply to you every tax season? The richer you are, the more you have.

Carl, San Francisco, USA

I would just point out that in addition to the pure tax implications, there is a vast difference between Mr. Buffet and his secretary or "cleaning lady" - He actually creates more jobs. He talks of giving back to the 99% - and it seems to me he's doing it. I don't know a secretary in my town that makes $60k! And, I don't see the secretary or the "cleaning lady" creating very many jobs.

A man as smart as he shouldn't intentionally be so obtuse and hypocritic. If he wants to vote for Hillary, that's his own choice. He shouldn't feel he should have to justify it by endorsing socialistic principles.

Bob Smith, Clover, SC, [GOD Bless the] USA

To all the deluded fools who have argued 'if Buffet wants to pay more tax then he should just hand it over' clearly you're missing the point - he wants the rich to be FORCED to hand it over through taxation. Here's my own personal British POV on why.
My partner and I went to Fort Lauderdale and we like to travel in a basic style. On our first day we decided to treat ourselves to a day on the main street of Ft. Lauderdale and the whole day saw around 5,000 wealthy white people (many of whom own multi-million dollar houses and yachts) and all of 3 black people - two of whom served us meals.
The next day we took a bus (against the advise of our hotel manager) to a famous shopping centre. On the way we went through an entire community a mile separate from Lauderdale where roofs had still not been repaired from previous hurricanes and where the ENTIRE population was poor and black.
The difference was that extreme and it was sickening. USA redistribute wealth before its too late

Nigel Jaggers, Newcastle, UK

Mr. Buffet hires accountants because his income flow is probably much more complicated than is that of someone making only earned income. But there is no denying that capital gains are being taxed at a lower rate than is earned income. It is true that the rich pay most of the federal tax burden, for the very good reason that they are making most of the money. This is confirmed by studies done by the Congressional Budget Office of income distribution in the US for the period 1979 to 2004. A simple solution to this would be to make it possible for more of the world's population to earn a middle class living. The rich can either let other people earn better incomes and pay higher taxes or keep shouldering the burden themselves.

Robert Abbott, Gilbert, AZ

The bottom line of what he is saying is valid. There is no reason for very wealthy people to pay a lower total percentage of their income in taxes than the poor or those in middle incomes. The poor pay taxes at flat rates for sales tax, government services, excise, social security, Medicare and no doubt others I am not listing. While the total dollars are insignificant to the decision makers in government and corporations, they are not insignificant to them.

Mark, Lakewood, USA

"$177,000 compared with $3,500? Come on, who´s paying more taxes? From the point of view of contribution to the country, the rich man certainly does more than the average Jane & Joe. "

You missed the point, his cleaning lady pays more out of her income, leaving here with less to invest, pay for bills, her childrens welfare, and to accumulate waelth herself. While on the other hand, Mr. Buffett, were he to pay the same tax rate, which would be fair and equal, has a trememndous amount of money remaining to continue investing and doing whatever he wants with it.
Does trickle-down economics really work? If it does then why are we at the point of highest economic disparity since Reagan instituted this policy? Shareholders are the real beneficiaries, while the middle class gets left behind to pay for the poor.

Seth Mitchell, Los Angeles, CA

Mr Buffet should have asked for his secretary's tax return for 2006 before he made such a stupid statement. If she was truthful, and earned $60,000, her federal income tax after the standard deductions would have been $8,249, which would be a tax rate of 13%, not 35%...
You and Hillary make a great pair, Mr Buffet...

tony Ferlazzo, Natick, MA USA

What would Jesus do?
For certain not what what George does. Jesus would take from the rich and give to the poor. He would not send the poor' s kid fight a war to make the rich richer.
Buffet got it right, Bushism is making the US trun into a jungle of selfish humans.

Eden , Chicago,

There are two types of people who don't pay their fair share: the rich, and the poor. I say, let's end child poverty by prohibiting poor people from having more than 2 children. Then let's have one tax rate for all: no discrimination among inherited income, ordinary income, dividends or capital gains. Just one rate for all types of income at all levels. Then fix that rate so we have a balanced budget, and have all tax legislation voted on right before each election. Problem solved.

David, San Diego,

Sounds to me as though Mr. Buffet would agree that a flat tax, under which EVERYONE pays the SAME percentage, is the most fair and equitable solution to this question. By the way, we shouldn't be focusing on making the rich pay more, we should be focusing on making the poor pay less. Why give this congress any more of our money to spend?

stopmakingsense, Washington, DC

It all sounds reasonable until you remember that the reason that the capital gains tax is lower is to provide an INCENTIVE to INVEST your money in the markets. Take that away and suddenly the economy falls flat on its face and then that "poor minority" will get a lot of company in their economic strata. This ain't rocket science, folks...

Mark, Mesa,

If Buffet thinks his taxes are too low, then he can correct the "problem" by simply sending in more money. It's that simple.

the truth, cincinnati, ohio

Warren Buffett is welcome to pay as much in taxes as his conscience compels him to, but he's being either disingenuous or downright hypocritical. The idea behind allowing folks with wealth to keep a great deal of their money is that they invest it, creating jobs and wealth for others. Buffett made his fortune by investing money that was not taxed, but he wants us to believe that OUR money is better off in the hands of the government? No thanks! I'd just as soon keep more of my money and try to parlay it into wealth for myself, just as he did.
Good ol' capitalism is a much more efficient and fair redistributor of income than any government could ever be. Does anyone think it's a coincidence that government revenues are at an all-time high AFTER the recent tax cuts? The whole country does better when the wealthy invest their money instead of give it to the government to fritter away on some feel-good program whose only real purpose is to secure votes for liberal politicians.

Marcus L. Simmons, Macon, Georgia

Today the top 50% of all US income earners pay 96.70% of all income taxes. the top 25% pay 84.6% and the top 1% pays 36.84% of all taxes; what could be less fair.

The idea of taking the $30 billion from the richest families and "giving" it to 30 million "poor" families does not sound like a proper role for [a non-Marxist] government.

Buffet seems to display a shocking degree of ignorance by intimating that you raise tax revenues by raising marginal tax rates. The U.S. and the Republic of Ireland have proven that you raise tax revenues by lowering marginal tax rates. The U.S. treasury is awash in cash as a result of the Bush tax [rate] cuts.

J. Stovall, Atlanta

J. Stovall, Atlanta, GA

O come on. Before anyone starts believing this oldman that we the lower income earners are really paying more taxes, let´s get back into perspective using some of the general facts given in this news article: Mr. Buffet earned $46,000,000 for YoA 2006. Assuming that his taxable income is a mere $1,000,000 he would have paid $177,000 being 17.7%. Now let´s assume that his receptionist's taxable income is a pathetic $10,000 for YoA 2006 and unfairly taxed at 35% (US max rate), which would be $3,500.

$177,000 compared with $3,500? Come on, who´s paying more taxes? From the point of view of contribution to the country, the rich man certainly does more than the average Jane & Joe.

It would appear that Mr. Buffet is trying to 'seduce' the people.

Kong Kek Kuat, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The reason Mr. Buffett doesn't pay much in taxes is that most of his income is derived from capital gains and dividends, which are quite correctly taxed at a lower rate than personal income.

Capital investment is the engine that drives the American economy. Raising taxes on capital gains discourages investment. It should also be noted that historically, treasury revenues increase when capital gain are taxed at a lower rate. If the purpose of the tax code is to raise revenues for federal spending, wouldn't it be wise to tax capital at a rate designed to produce the highest amount amount of tax revenues? As for dividends, the elderly in America are heavily dependent on the dividend checks they receive. Why raise their taxes?

What Mr. Buffett and other like-minded liberals don't seem to understand is that there is nothing stopping them from sending whatever they consider to be their fair share in taxes to the federal government. Then perhaps they can all sleep at night.

Tony P., montclair, NJ/US

Mr. Buffett's lower effective rate is due to income of capital gains (and probably tax-free muni bonds), not salary. For the receptionist, her income is salary, thus subject to the higher rates.

Second, lower capital gains rates encourage capital formation and investment. Why is no one wanting to lower the receptionist's rate but instead demanding an increase for the capital gains?

Third, Mr. Buffett can pay as much tax as he wants. If he feels that he's cheating the system or his poor receptionist, he can pay more to assuage his guilt. No need to bully the rest of us.

Fourth, the inheritance tax does not affect exclusively "rich" families, but those who have assets. This means that small business owners and family farms are "rich" in their total company value or land, but cash poor.

The death tax simply destroys these families, forcing them to sell the family legacy.

As for the 30m poor families, they aren't paying any tax anyway., let alone $1000 for the death tax.

Jim D, Ohio, USA

Well Mr Buffett and all his rich friends are more than welcome to donate all their money to the US government. No one is making them keep their money and if they want higher taxes they should walk the walk and donate large sums to offset the "cleaning lady" taxes. Maybe if Mr. Buffett thought it through a little more he could even pay his "cleaning lady" a higher wage from all the taxes he is saving, this would probably help her more than complaining about it to people who are payin $4600 for dinner. I am sick of hearing all these wealthy people complain of having so much money but never actually give their money back to the government. People that create business and create wealth are the ones who create jobs, that is why they have more money. No I am not a rich individual, rather I work as a Firefighter and fight for every raise.

Rick, Orlando, Florida

I'm puzzled! Here is what I thought was a smart man!
you made 0.09% on the 52 billion! Are you really that
dumb that you couldn't put that $52 billion in a bank at
5% and earn $2.6 billion!
Then with that $2.6 billion you could even with your low tax rate of 17% pay the govt $442 million, then distribute the difference or $338 million to the 5,633 people who make $60k. That way they would then have $120k pay their tax of 30% or 36,000 and still have $84,000 left over!
Just doesn't make any sense that as wealthy as you are you can't earn better than 9/10ths of 1 percent!


Warren, suggestion... if you think you have paid too much,
why not donate to the secretary and pay her taxes, my taxes and every one up to the 30% you said she had to pay!
No one is forcing you to keep that 13%!
Just think if you earned

Tottie Fields, Dallas, TX

simple him and forbs need to go buy another island. after thye made their bilions off of outsourcing all our jobs now they get religion. easy to say when you are that high on the mountain and ou are facing your end on earth.

c, norman, ok

To all dolts those saying Buffet should pay more are missing the point. He's not saying that he specifically should pay more, but the top 1% (which is more than just himself) should pay more (or at least an equal share) than the rest. For him to just send a check to the treasury does nothing to further his stated goals.

Babbaloo, Farmar, USA

I'm paying less taxes with the tax cuts of Pres. Bush. It's only a small amount. But what's wrong with that? Only the wealthy can pay accountants to get the loop holes. Whenever the difference between wealth and the rest of us is brought up someone wants to raise taxes. On me. Or on the death of my parents. What's wrong with a fair % to pay and cut out the loop holes? Someone just starts to get ahead and you have to pay more in taxes. It's true. NO ONE is stopping ANYONE from paying their taxes. Warren Buffet et al, just shut up and pay what you're suppose to. Let the rest of us get ahead for once.

Leo Smith, Channahon, Illinois, USA

"nobody is stopping buffet from paying more taxes. "

This isn't about the guy himself, this is about the system in general. The filthy rich shouldn't pay less tax (percentage-wise) than those who are worse off.

Mind you, that's exactly how the council tax works around here...

starling, Lancaster,

If Mr. Buffett had decided to pay himself $1 million as salary (a moderate and justified amount), he would have paid appropriate taxes. His whining about unfair taxes could be more appropriately directed to the thousands of pages of inane tax code.
For him to make a political point after gaming the system is crap! Grow up!

Leo, Chesapeake Beach, MD/USA

Hurray, Mr. Buffett!! But you did NOT propose a solution!!! I will propose one for you: Everybody making under $200K is taxed 0% ZERO, and whatever income tax shortcomings the government will have, especially thanks to your tax-greedy Democrat friends, we will take this FROM YOU. Ah, and then,no complaints please, Mr. Hypocrite. It will be fair.

Daniel, Falls Church,

Yes, let's make it fair! Like most conservatives, I would love a flat (fair) tax, so that everyone pays an equal share of their income. The reason why the current tax scheme is so unfair is that our congress, in an inept attempt at fairness, set up such a complicated tax scheme that only the rich can hire the accountants and lawyers necessary to decipher it, thereby reducing their contribution. Don't blame that on republicans (though I'm sure they played their part). With a fair tax, we could virtually deprecate the IRS and everyone would contribute equally according to their income. What could be fairer than that?

Dean, Tarpon Springs, FL

These guys are a bunch of hypocrites. If they feel so terribly about paying a smaller percentage in income taxes than their secretaries, then maybe they shouldn't hire accountants and tax lawyers to shield their incomes. Buffett's near 18% tax burden was no doubt arrived at AFTER he paid someone to reduce his income. He willingly chose to avail himself of the very laws he decries.

Korey, Baton Rouge, LA

It's funny how almost all you are screaming that he should write the difference as a check to the Treasury, or donate to charity, when he IS one of, if not the single largest charitible donator in the world. He just gave away $50 BILLION dollars.

The only way we're going to solve all fairness and bridge the gap between the poor and rich, and get rid of the wasted money in tax collection is to get rid of income tax completely and go to a comsumption tax.

Chris, Williamsburg, VA

I understand that Warren Buffett is allegedly worth US$ %% Billion but he puts his money where his mouth is, unlike many others and seemingly the many Americans who have contributed to this thread, and that last year, in July 2006, he made a commitment to give away his fortune to charity with 83% of it going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Charitable Foundation. The amount donated is approximately $30 billion and Buffett's donation is said to be the largest in U.S. history. At least the USA still appears to have some people who are not just entrepreneurs but also philanthropists, but, I am not sure that there are any in the United Kingdom who might consider such a gesture.

Kenneth Armitage, Suffolk, England

How about donating that 13% tax disparity for cancer/aids research? How about feeding poor children all over the world, or providing health care? Oh, that's right, it's the United States goverments job to do this.

Logical Thought, Pleasantville, USA

Reading this from Spain where salaries are low and taxes high (but moreless equal), agree with the comment of having less tax burden on the cleaning lady, that is the basic point, transferring taxes from the income to spend resources, is the best way equalizes it.

Zero tax for less than 60K revenues, VAT 20%.

Adolfo Villalobos, Barcelona, Spain

I do not think Mr. Buffet is uttering complete nonsense, but is successfully criticizing a system that allows him and other people similarly situated to pay such a low rate. I really don't understand why the people in this country who can afford to help the less fortunate are willing to fight to their last breath about the inequities of doing so. Also, anyone who thinks Social Security is a low-yield investment needs to do some research on the matter; that money is not placed anywhere to gain any interest, it is a way to have current taxpayers help offset expenses of the nation's elderly citizens. Any social security we receive will be paid by our kids and grandkids, and there is no guarantee we will even get it. I would say it is more like a junk-bond with an exceptionally low, or maybe even non-existent, rate.

Robert, Columbia, SC

I wonder how many of those suggesting that Buffet is a hypocrit or should voluntarily pay more taxes are aware that last year he gave the bulk of his lifetime wealth - over $30,000,000,000 - to charity (the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)?

Ben, White Plains, NY,

The problem is the robbery of the small business owner making 100-300K that is being mauled by government.

Jim Mulligan, Zionsville, IN

To all of you who say Buffett should just give his money to the government, I'd like to tell you that your red herring is pretty easy to see right through. The point is that rich people should pay a higher percentage of what they have than poor people. Why? Because people don't need 3 bmw's, two should be enough. You greedy freaks are the cause of poverty, death and dispair worldwide. I bet all you rich, greedy jerks are the same people who take the nice car to church and act like you actually give a crap about poor people. Get a life.

ted, omaha, ne

The government should make the tax rates equal no matter how the money was made, whether earned as salary or made in profits such as windfalls.

Mario, Houston,

Warren Buffet is like a dog who has been given too much food and pisses on the remainder so that no other dogs can eat it. He has made his money, so now he is going to do whatever he can to screw the rest of us. He is certainly not the man his father was. If he feels so guilty, he should just cut a $52 billion dollar check to the US government and shut his trap. The solution, of course, is for our government in the US to spend less - much less - and stop interfering in other nation's problems and stop being a nanny to its citizens. That, of course, will never happen. Maybe one day the Chinese will liberate us from this oppressive government.

Bubba, Loachapolka, Alabama

last time I checked, there weren't no law keeping Mr. Buffett from writing a $ 10 million check to the government to make up for this tax discrepancy - why don't he do that ?

K. Nutt, Auburn, AL

Today, the wealthiest one percent of Americans are closing in on fifty percent of the wealth. It wasn't always this way. Just a few years ago they controlled nineteen percent. This disparity in the distribution of wealth came about for many reasons, but it is not good for the social health of the country. How we change it is going to take a lot of work and people like Mr. Buffet could take the lead.

Dave Miller, Hayward, USA, Wisconsin

I do wonder at all the comments saying " put your money where your mouth is or shut up" and he should give more money to the government.

Didn't Mr Buffett arrange to give away 85% of his asset to charity? Thats around $30 BILLION.

I see he is such a devil...only deciding to donate a few tens of billions.

Plus in 2006 as far as i can see he took a $100,000 wage. I think he deserves some sort of credit.

Damian, Leamington spa, England

Why do people like Kerry,The Clintons,Edwards all liberals claim to have so much compassion for the poor while the IRS doesn,t tax the rich enough. Is there any reason why they,as private citizens, can't opt to give more money to the IRS than they owe in taxes.

Michael, Rome, GA

And I will add this, if you are only speaking of income taxes you are missing the picture. There are so many taxes out there, sales tax, property tax, user fees, it is ridiculous!

I don't claim to be an expert, but all I hear is a bunch of conservative boneheads out there whining about "liberal this" and "liberal that".

Grow up.

James C. Crawford, Ann Arbor, MI

This reminds me of the children game KING OF THE MOUNTAIN. The question should be asked, how did they get there without using the system. Change the rules and keep being the king of the hill.

ben barr, cornwall, canada/pei

The only way he is paying 17% is through a very creative (and legal) use of the tax code. Here's a suggestion, Just pay the 35% rate on this income if he feels so guilty. I am a high earner (not remotely in his category) and my IRS take was in the 29% range.

Dick, Charlottesville, va

Flat tax is the answer! No loopholes. As far as inheritance tax it is plain unfair to retax previously taxed income... but what am I saying- this is done all the time! We're taxed on income, taxed when we spend our income, taxed when we resell previously taxed property, so why not tax when we die... once the gov't has it they'll not likely give it back.
Another real answer is to have the gov't run more like a business... if they're not making $ they got to slow down!

Bob &Trish Schwenkler, Boise, ID

This is complete nonsense with a double dose of hypocrisy. Nobody is preventing him from taxing himself more and sending it in to the treasury. If he were serious and genuine, he would do just that.

John Becker, Vienna, VA

There is no way his secretary paid 20,000 in income taxes last year. Social Security is something we get back right? So it is not a tax, just a low yield investment. Take out what she invested in Social Security and she probably didn't pay 17% of her income in taxes.

David, Houston, Tx

What nonsense! The estate tax is perhaps the only tax that costs more to collect than it brings in. As for the taxation, the richest 1% of the Country pay 99% of the tax. Increasing the tax rate on the ' rich ' would only redeploy the capital to a tax haven, or to international laws. The fairest thing would be to pay the tax once rather than twice anyway. But it seems that the what is really being advocated is income equality. Perhaps the best way to help the most people; especially the lower earners, is simply to keep inflation. Low inflation explicitly increases income distribution. So I think the argument really should be on the side of income equality, and the best way to do that is to keep inflation as low as possible. This provides
the surest method of equality.

james constable, winnetka, ill usa

nobody is stopping buffet from paying more taxes.

he is the one who has decided to use tax avoidance schemes and shelters.

many years ago he made the decision to avoid the estate tax by setting up generation skipping trusts.

this man is a stranger to the truth.

roy davis, cary, IL

fair is fair. for the richest 1% to pay a lower percentage tax rate is tautalogically unfair.

most people would say even that is not fair; that the rich should pay a higher percentage tax rate.

it's hard to see why someone that makes nothing tangible, shows no craftsmanship...no artistry in their work...it's hard to see why that person should even be in the top 1% of wealth to begin with.

and about your french revolution 0% tax rate on the aristocrats. doesn't your british royal family still enjoy that job perk?

randy, brooklyn, ny

What's stopping Mr. Buffet and other super-wealthy liberals from donating to charity?

Jason, Middle, TN

WARREN, If you are not paying as much as you think you should, JUST SEND MORE. They'll take it. Otherwise, SHUT YOUR GD Trap!!!

landroll, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

If Warren Buffett is so concerned about underpaying taxes, what stops him from writing a check to the U.S. Treasury? That goes for all whom are feeling under taxed.

Dennis Sharp, Houston, Texas

If Mr. Buffet believes the US Goverment could make better use of his money, he could voluntarily give it. For that matter, he could give to anyone he wants to alleviate societal disparities. Apparently, he and his fellow travelers like Lloyd Blankfein are rather stingy. Hence, the need for government to give them an excuse to part with their wealth. The least he could do is loan his accountant to his poor secretary. The 30 percent figure is rather hard to believe for someone making $60k in Omaha.

Marty, Menlo Park, CA

Mr Buffett is free to pay more tax if he is feeling guilty about his fortune. He conveniently omits the thousands of family farms that have been destroyed buy the death of the patriarc, leaving the family having to sell the farm to pay the Death Tax.

Joe , Sand Springs, Oklahoma

gee...how noble to feel our pain
why not do something pratical?
pay your secretary's taxes,
and the cleaning guy
the limo driver, travel agent
or is it just enough to "think about the other 99%"?
how about a few billion earmarked to reduce the tax rate
on th elowest 20% of wage earners?
in short put-up or shut-up....

FedUp, medford, oregon

Why is Buffet, a multi-billionaire, paying his secretary and cleaners such a paltry pittance in wages? What a lousy, stinking cheapskate. Put them in a different tax bracket, by raising their wages to a couple of million a year yourself, Buffet. It doesn't take any government agency to do that, but then again, Buffet might only be left with $51.9999 billion in assets.

Ron, Riverton, Wyoming, U.S.A.

Dear Mr. Buffett, There is no reason why you can't pay 50% or more in taxes if you want. You can give all your money to the Ferderal Government but I bet you paid your 17% and probably used every loop hole you could find.

buck, west palm bch, fl

If Warren Buffet is upset that he doesn't pay enough taxes, then he should pay more than required by the IRS.

Bob G, Stanford, KY, USA

So why not lower the cleaning lady's tax rate?

michael, El Reno, USA/OK

The revolution is coming, it is time to take action and liberate ourselves from this oppression. Who dares join me?

Pitchfork, Nassau Royale,

First off I compete agree with his comments, but there is somthing really strange about complaing you don't pay enough...and do nothing about it.

Ok, let me get this striaght, so Mr Buffet complains he doesn't pay enough taxes....why then does he not send a check to the IRS, perhaps I'm too much of a simpleton. What is stopping him from doing so?

I'm mean he says he doens't pay enough why then does he not pay more...what am I missing.

Confused, Chicago, USA/IL

Mr Buffett sounds like a real humanitarian. Well done and well said Mr Buffett.

philip sparrowhawk, epsom, surrey uk

Mr. Buffet should consider that most of the wealth he has accumulated comes from investing in corporations that are in the business of stripping their workers of a modest living, or that have removed themselves from the labor force of America to strip the workers of their labor in foreign countries. Capital always strips labor, those in the tax bracket most effected by the tax.

dave, bend,

And your point. Are we not a wiser generation, with a little regard for our brother? Or are we out for ourselves and what we can take. You make a living by what you get - you make a life by what you give.

David Keller, Marietta, GA

Did anyone ask Mr. Buffett if he had sent in any "extra" taxes to make up the difference? After all, you can send the Government as much money as you want. I'm sure they won't return it.

I love a hypocrite.

Mark, Charlotte, NC, USA

What a hypocrite; WB earns millions using the system....attains astonishing wealth, then stabs the rest of us in the back who are attempting to gain. This is the same individual that creates a foundation to benefit his heirs (?) at the lowest possible tax rate, minimize his taxes and still 'beat the system'.

Fred Plese, Charleston, NC

Anyone that pays more than 15% in taxes in the U.S. needs a lesson on how to file taxes. If Mr. Buffet thinks he needs to pay more taxes, he should write a check to the government for the difference between what he paid and what he thinks he should pay.... I'm sure Uncle Sam wouldn't complain.

Lenny, Woodstock, GA, USA

If Buffett wants to give more of his money to the government, I am sure that they would accept it. Mr. Buffet's money reinvested (through jobs and wealth creation) probably does more good than the government squandering it like they are so good at doing. If Buffett is so concerned why doesn't he start passing out money to the poor, downtrounden class of people that can not help themselves. We really need the government to save us from ourselves. We are ignorant and are incapable of understanding how to help ourselves. We need the government to take care of us.

Donald T, New York, NY

The fundamental question, which I don't see stated anywhere, is whether or not the government should have the right to tax at all. It is nothing more than robbery at the end of a rifle, with the threat of prison or worse for anyone unwilling to give up a portion of his own earnings. Especially when taxes are used to fund programs that are morally repugnant to those being robbed, such as immigration deferral, foreign aid to countries bent on destroying our countries or supporting ne'er do wells while we work for our income. Ron Paul is the only candidate for president in the US that understands this fundamental right to one's own income.

Steven G. Ryan, Los Angeles, CA

Lets do away with all income taxes and institute the Fair Tax which is based on consumption. This would also held our manufacturing base compete against imports.

Wayne Beach, Roaring Spring, PA/USA

The Fair Tax (fairtax.org) is the only reasonable solution.

The problem, it can't be manipulated by both parties to curry favor with the well-off (lower personal income and estate taxes), powerful corporations and their major players (lower corporate taxes meaning, let's face it, higher margins and, thusly, bonuses), AND the not so well-off (increases in the dependent care and earned income credits, etc...). EVERY single american taxpayer's support (vote) if bought and paid for. Its the mother of all ponzi schemes.

Income taxation will be the ruin of the human race, not just in the U.S., but all over the world.

Jeff P. (American), St Cloud, FL

If Mr. Buffett is so in favor of the redistribution of wealth, why doesn't he go out and spend his earnings with people who would provide goods and services - and need the work? It makes no sense for him to demand his reward for his capital be coerced from him. JHe should just go out and spend it (or hire someone to spend it). He's probably likely to put that money in the hands of people who might need it.

Frank, NY, NY

I'd like Mr. Buffet to make his tax return public to the rest of us. There is a tax system in the U.S. called Alternative Minimum Tax that taxes individual income at 26 and 28%. I'd like to see where he gets 17.7% effective tax rate.

Landon Estay, The Woodlands, Texas, USA

The richest man in the world pays his secretary a lousy 60,000 grand? Before rampaging on the US tax system he should look at how he handles and treats people around him.

Brian Darlage, Louisville, United States

The really disgusting thing here is that Warren Buffet pays his secretary such a pitiful salary. All that money and he pays his secretary a wage that falls on the low end of the secretarial pay scale. My opinion of this man just plummeted!

Robert, Boston, MA, USA

There is no law prohibiting Mr. Buffett from paying an additional 22.3% of his income so that he too can pay 30% of his income like his secretary. I'm surprised that if he feels so strongly about taxes that he simply doesn't order his accountants to pay the difference. The Federal government would not refuse a check from Mr Buffett. The fact that he doesn't pay an extra 22.3% shows a bit of hypocrisy.

Chris, NY, NY

Did he donate the difference to charity?

Marcoblogo, Detroit, MI

Ron, Jquig and Lee. You are completely missing the point. Sit down and think about it for a while and get back to us.

Alan Desmond, Cork,

All Warren has to do is eliminate all trusts and offshore enities that he has and send the IRS an extra $20,000,000.00 US per year. I'm sure they would be happy to cash the check! He should stop the BS and just pay up and shut up!
Dave S. Illinois, USA

Dave schoen, Springfield, Illinois, USA

No one is stopping them from paying more! I'll trust Warren Buffet to give his money away, not the govt.!!!

ron plaza, New York , New York

The US tax systems does not prohibit individuals from paying more if they feel like it. If Mr. Buffett feels that the 17% rate that he pays is too low, he can always make a voluntary payment to the government to increase the rate.

Jquig, Kngston, USA / NY

Warren should write the US Treasury a check for whatever he feels guilty about. There is no law against it. Put your own money where your big mouth is and set an example or shut up.

Lee, Charlotte, NC/USofA

With the seemingly decline in decency and fairness in Western democracy one has to wonder how much farther we are from having the 'reset' button hit via revolution or other large scale social upheaval.

Jimmy VanDino, Fredericton, NB Canada

Do some simple calculations using whatever rate of return you want on the capital emplyed and the amount of tax calculated on the capital growth and in every case after 6 years the 17% tax rate will yield more tax than than the 30% rate. So what is the logic other than spite in setting high capital taxes, they can only ultimatley weaken the state and harm ordinary people.

Everyone is looking at the problem from the wrong end of the telescope, the simple fact is that the 30% tax rate should be brought down to 17% not the other way round.

Steven Katirai, Ncl / Tyne, UK

He knows better than that. By the time the federal government gave the $30bn to 30mil poor families it would probably be $500 for each.......if they were lucky and congress didn't decide to spend it on something else. Why didn't he donate to the federal government instead of the Gates' foundation? What kind of tax break did he get last year for this donation.....I bet that helped with his 17% effective rate. Let's not start talking about what percentage of the total personal income tax revenue is paid by the top 1, 5, 10, and 25 percent.

Besides assume that a "family" is (at least) 3 people - That means 90mil or approximately 30% of the U.S. population is "poor". Is his secretary poor at $60K per year?

If Warren Buffet truly believes this - then he should propose that they tax wealth, not income. This will be the only method to "equalize." All else equal, taxing income keeps people from becoming wealthy. Good thing everyone there is already on top.

Ben, Fairfax, VA

Despite his phony protests, I guarantee Mr Buffett pays lots of accountants to reduce his tax liability. This is such an annoyingly false argument. Mr Buffett and his ilk are free to pay more in taxes. There is no law or regulation prohibiting Mr. Buffett from sending a nice fat check to the US Treasury (or to any state or local government he chooses). In fact it would be welcomed.

However, I honestly prefer to pay the least taxes possible and let my labors go towards my family.

The fact is 5-10% of people in USA pay most of the income taxes and over 50% of the population pays NONE.

Chuck, Denver,

On a percentage of net worth basis, taxes hurt those aspiring to be rich more than the rich. It's crazy and unfair for the rich to tell the poor that they are going to make it harder for them to get rich by raising taxes. Taxes, don't forget, only hit changes in net worth (through income or capital gains).

If I'm 20 with $0 I want low taxes, but when I'm a billionaire at 70 who cares???

Joe, NYC,

Not true here in the U.S. The top 50% of income earners pay 97 percent of taxes The top 25% of income earners account for 85 percent of all the taxes collected. The top 1% pay more than a third of taxes here. Additionally, the alternatvie minimum tax is being applied to more and more individuals. The rich pay their fair share of taxes here in the U.S. But if Buffet is trying to get tax cuts for everyone then I am right behind him.

Chris, Las Cruces , New Mexico

Buffett is free to donate as much extra money to the government as he wants to. He can keep his socialist views to himself as far as I'm concerned.

Chris, St Petersburg,

perhaps income tax should be abolished in favor of a consumption tax after all rich people spend a lot more than average folks ,think how are productivity would increase if financial descions were based upon tangiable benifits rather than the avoidance of taxation no more money spent on tax lawyers scams like h&r block loaning money against your tax refund .tax paid as you go, no inheritance tax ,the rich don't pay it any way ,they have trusts,only the middle classes get hit with inheritance tax anyway . if warren buffet is unhappy he can always pay the alternitive minimum tax ,another punish the rich scheme thats biting the middle class in the ass.i'm quite sure his tax people take care of him quite well ,the rich pay a smaller percentage of income because they can afford the best tax people, until we do away with the income tax nothing will change!!!!!!!!!

william carlisle, cimarron, new mexico

So Buffett's stock picks were luck? I'm glad he gave away so much of his fortune with Bill Gates, but he should be calling for lower taxes for the lower classes, not higher taxes for the upper classes.

Jay, Columbia, USA

If Mr. Buffett feels bad about the amount he pays in taxes, why doesn't he write a check to the U. S. Treasurer for $30 million. I'm
sure the the check would be cashed. Every time these Demicats
tax the rich, they manage to get more of the couple thousand dollar income I work for during the year and these fat cats still manage to hide there income.

Allen Seedorff, Elk Run Heights, Iowa

You can thank the U.S.'s Ronald Reagan and the U.K.'s Margaret Thatcher for putting this extraordinary advantage for the rich into motion.

Frank, Houston, US/Texas

Yeah, except today we have better health, longer lives, lower mortality rate, modern conveniences, abundant food, much more freedom, religious freedom, less arduous jobs, paid vacations, and unlimited opportunity.
To compare the US to France today, much less when they were ruled by a monarchy is ridiculous.
A person who earns $1 million dollars and pays 10% tax on it has paid 100,000 in taxes. That equates to over 20 times what I have paid in taxes in the last decade. High income earners pay plenty.
Besides, what they don't pay in taxes they are much more likely to use for charitable donations, investment and spending.
Do you think we would have satellite TV available for $35 dollars a month if "rich" people hadn't been spending hundreds of dollars a month for that service for the last two decades to help that technology become profitable.
Have a little faith in your fellow man - people will recycle money back into society more efficiently without big government taking it.

Rob Mccann, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Nothing is stopping Warren Buffet opening his wallet and give more to the government. When taxing income and not wealth the government is just taking food out of your mouth that you earn today. Warren Buffet can lower his taxes by quit working, firing his secretary, and living off his bank account. Problem is, his secretary can not live off her bank account. Income should not be taxed, only spending should be taxed.

Dan A., Chicago, USA Illinois

"My secretary makes $60,000 per year. She pays a higher tax rate then I do on my 42 million."

Which begs the question. If he makes 42 mil a year, and he's so concerned, why is he only paying her $60,000?

Income Tax is unconstitutional. To all you socialist liberals., what gives you the right to tell me I must give MY money that I earned thru working HARD to others? If you are over 30 and still poor, the blame lies solely with you and your inability to better yourself.

"If you're twenty and not a liberal, you haven't a heart in your chest. If you are forty and not a conservative, you haven't a brain in your head." Winston Churchill

Robert T, Louisville, KY`

If Buffet or Gates or Clinton or Kennedy or Prince of Whatever fell that they are undertaxed, the answer is simple - write a big ass check to the treasury. If Warren is only paying 17.7%, it is because he is protecting large sums of money in his and Gates' charities. Why would he do that if he feels that the government is so efficient at using his and MY tax dollars. The problem, sir, is that the secretary and cleaning persons are OVERtaxed!

Steve T., Dallas, Texas

In a world where political decisions are increasingly influenced, if not made, by the mega-corporations rather than politicians honoring their election promises Warren Buffet stands as an example to all.

How much money does a person need to live well, and shouldn’t we be at a stage in our civilization where we actually start embracing a true meritocracy rather the inherited wealth?

Stuart Duncan, Singapore,

If Mr Buffett feels so guilty about his share of tax paid, he can always write a check to the US treasury. The simple fact is that the top 50% of wage earners in the US pay over 95% of all income taxes. The rest of the country essentially gets a free ride.

Mark R, Knoxville TN, USA

Buffet's income is on Capital Gains on the sale of his stock versus ordinary income. I say scrap the IRS and all income tax and replace the revenue with a 20% National Sales Tax. Give poorer folks rebates or prebates on necessities like food, clothing and medicine. The tax code in the USA is THOUSANDS of pages and changes are made in a patchwork fashion causing most people to HAVE to seek professional help. What a waste of time and money.
A Yank living Abroad

jaxson, Bangkok, Thailand

The Democrats talk a good story, but they will never increase taxes on the very rich. What they will do is increase taxes on the middle class and call it a tax increase on the rich. Actually, their goal is to see to it that people from the middle class are prevented from moving up into the class that they are in.

Hal LaCour, Gonzales, LA

Uhhh did anyone realize that Mr. Buffet could refuse to take the deductions that changes his tax percentage. Then he would pay a tax rate of somewhere around 35 percent. Just because it's available doesn't mean you have to take it.

Chuck, Portland,

I don't see Mr. Buffett being stopped from giving his money to "30 million poor families." Frankly, I don't have a problem if they tax these incomes at a higher rate. The problem is, they will continue taxing the rest of us at the same rate. The net result being, of course, a tax increase. Now, if a politician wants to raise Mr. Buffett and friend's taxes, while lowering mine. I am all for it.

Tom , Cleveland , Ohio

Mr Buffett is free to contribute a higher amount than he owes if he so wishes.

He is taxed higher than probably 99% of all Americans. He owes less through loopholes and accounting trickery.

A secretary that makes $60,000 a year? That's a lot of dictation
Sounds like his secretary needs a better accountant.

Most cleaning ladies and the poor pay no taxes at all anyway, so his argument is a red herring.


“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.”
-Abraham Lincoln

Ray, Tyler, Tx,USA

I'm calling BS on this. How someone pays 30% on 60,000 is beyond me. Federal Income tax for someone making 60,000 is 15%, so unless she is also paying 15% in state income tax I call BS.

As for him, someone who makes above 336K is taxed at a federal rate of 35% plus whatever he pays in state. The article claims that he made no attempt to get out of paying higher taxes. If he reported his income at 46 million on his tax form with no deductions there is no way he only payed 17%.

Something smells fishy about his tax claims.

Brock Landers, Seattle, WA

Maybe the money should be be taken from the people who paid taxes on it when they earned it. Perhaps it should be redistrubuted. That is what Castro and Chavez would do. Maybe we should be more like them... Or, maybe we should fear a group that wants to steal from some in order to support others...

Anti Redistribution, Laurel, MD

Couldn't Mr Buffett instruct his accountants to make a check for the additional 13 per cent,bringing his total taxes to 30 percent(or more if he feels that too little) and send that to the US Government? In addition, couldn't he give his secretary a raise?

charles b, herndon, virginia

There are no laws that make you take deductions. Deductions are voluntary. Buffet is a hypocrite of the highest ranking. He should give his receptionist and house cleaner a pay raise and refuse all deductions if he really wants to help the inequality between the classes. Tell Buffet to call me and I can give him some more suggestions on how to pay taxes at the top rate to help our country's economic woes. He could pay the tax bill for those poor who struggle to pay their tax percentage and really make a difference in their lives. Then his entourage of tax accountants and economic advisors would be unneccessary. Seems strange to have someone brag about a tax system that helps him pay less and complain that it doesn't work at the same time.

Harold Brock, Yazoo City, Mississippi

Shut up and put your money where your mouth is. Take a flat $100,000 a year for yourself, and give the rest to the poor if you're so concerned about others...

Evigeny Gorbachenko, Huntington Beach , California

It is impossible for his secretary to pay 30%. That is an outright lie. The US tax code for has a 10% rate for the first 7,500, 15% for 7,500 to 31,000, and then 25% from 31,000 to 74,000.

To make the math simple, a person making 60,000, gets 8,500 for the personal exemption and the standard deduction, so, that person has taxable income of 51,500. So, they pay less than 15% on the first 31,000 (due to the fact they pay 10% on the first 7,500) and then they pay 25% on the next 20,000. A simple weighted average would tell you they are paying approximately 18% blended.

Mr. Buffet may have made $40 million last year, but I would be curious as to how much of that income was tax exempt. Makes a huge difference.

Jim, Baltimore, MD

For such an intelligent investor, I think he he has got it backwards when it comes to tax policy. Bush's tax cuts took the lowest segment of income earners completely off the income tax roles.

kevin, rexford, new york

How does Warren Buffet pay 17.7 %?? The top income rate is 35%!! Is he funneling all his money through dividends?

Hey Warren, don't complain about not paying enough taxes, just go ahead and send more money to the government on your own since you feel you are not taxed enough. I'm sure the IRS will accept your extra payments.

For that matter, all you people who feel you don't pay enough in taxes, just send more in!! It's very simple. Of course, you liberals never do that, you just talk a big game. Why is it the people who have already made millions and billions are the ones that want to raise taxes on the ones trying to get where they are? Because they don't want you to get where they are!! Example, Kennedy, Buffet, Streisand, Corzine, et. al. Think about it .

Richard Cunningham, Knoxville, TN

funny how a smart person like Mr. Buffett can't seem to understand that a tax system that does not punish success may have aided in the success his is now trying to tax. Its like him saying I've made mine, but lets make sure its harder for anyone else to follow the same path.

william fleming, springoboro, oh

Warren Buffett is pandering to the left of center audience. Nothing in the US tax code prevents him from paying as much of his 46 million income in taxes as he wants, including every penny of it. Tax rates are minimums in the USA not maximums. If Warren were concerned about our government, he would voluntarily give it all to the US. He and millions of Amerians are wealthy today because of the tax rate cuts President Reagan enacted. These have stimulated tremendous economic growth in the USA and the world has benefeted. Mr Buffett is showing signs of madness by his comments. Republicans in the USA are not proposing to increase taxes on the lower earners to recover the tax revenue lost by cutting tax rates for all Americans, including Mr. Buffett. Instead, Republicans want to downsize the size of government to a more affordable, long-term level much like Mr. Buffett runs companies.. Republicans want tax levels lower on all Americans. The government has no right to all of our money.

Scott, Rochester, Minnesota

The solution is simple. Institute a flat tax on everyone with zero tax loop holes. It is not a complicated concept.

Hoder, Houston, Tx

There was a time before the French Revolution when the aristocratic class was exempt from taxes. Today, the income disparity in the US and UK is more or less the same proportions as in those times...

Valentin M., London,