Warren Buffett: Criticism is 'ridiculous' (His point is -- tax code treats his secretary unfairly)

Omaha World Herald ^ | 01/27/2012 | Steve Jordon

[<1/1,000,000th%]

She’s rich. I thought the Dems wanted rich people to pay high taxes?

[KarlInOhio]

Even if you count both halves of SS and Medicare, the legit way of doing it is (income tax + employee’s payroll tax + employer’s payroll tax) / (gross pay + employer’s payroll tax). You have to count the employer’s side in addition to the gross pay because it is part of the total pay and benefits. Counting the employer’s payroll tax only in the numerator is crooked. Dividing by the pay after deductions and exemptions is outright intellectual fraud. You might as well just make up a number.

[remember]

Even if you count both halves of SS and Medicare, the legit way of doing it is (income tax + employee’s payroll tax + employer’s payroll tax) / (gross pay + employer’s payroll tax). You have to count the employer’s side in addition to the gross pay because it is part of the total pay and benefits. Counting the employer’s payroll tax only in the numerator is crooked.

I agree with counting the employer's payroll tax.

Dividing by the pay after deductions and exemptions is outright intellectual fraud. You might as well just make up a number.

However, I disagree on this. Suppose that person A makes $100,000 in gross pay, gives $90,000 in charity and pays the other $10,000 in taxes. Then suppose that person B also makes $100,000 but gives nothing to charity and pays $20,000 in taxes. Person A is paying 100% of taxable income to person B's 20% but is paying 10% of gross pay to person B's 20%. By your logic, person B is paying a higher tax rate despite the fact that he is left with $80,000 and person A is left with nothing. Deductions are a separate issue. If they are unjust or inequitable, then they should be changed. But they should not be used to compare tax rates. I write more on Buffett's tax rate versus that of his secretary at this link.

[eyeamok]

This is easily solved, the House Ways and Means Committee needs to hold Hearings on Taxation then ORDER BOTH TO TESTIFY UNDER OATH and Bring their TAX RECORDS for further examination. When it is proven that they BOTH LIED in an effort to defraud the Taxpayers out of more of their hard earned money based on THEIR FRAUDULENT REPRESENTATION of FACT, PUT THEM IN PRISON and Seize their Assets for their CRIMES AGAINST THE PUBLIC. FRAUD. Call these people out, force them to prove their ridiculous statements.