Warren Buffet Times Op-ed: Stop Coddling the Super-Rich (AKA, Will somebody please raise my taxes)

New York Slimes ^ | 08/15/2011 | Warren Buffet

[SeekAndFind]

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue.

Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.

[VonKrieger]

Buffet is misleading the people. His tax rate is lower than most income earners because most of his income is dividend income (taxed at 15%). What Mr. Buffet fails to tell you is that corporate income(from which the dividend income is derived) has already been subjected to a tax of 35%. So, in effect Mr. Buffet is paying 50%....and he thinks that is too low? Well, if he does think it is too low....then there is nothing preventing him from paying more.

This weakling is pandering to the liberal mainstream press. What a loser!

[rmac1947]

If you read the article, he stated his belief that people making >$1 million / year should get the hike. I don’t think that qualifies as middle class, unless you have high standards.

[rhema]