Free Republic

Warren Buffett may be most famous for the billions of dollars he has made from investing, but he is also well known as a cheerleader for the United States. The Oracle of Omaha routinely exhorts investors to put their money in America, “the mother lode of opportunity,” as he wrote in his annual letter this year. So Buffett’s participation in fast-food chain Burger King Worldwide Inc.’s purchase of coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons Inc.—complete with relocation of Burger King’s domicile to Canada—might at first blush raise questions about his patriotism. Investors and tax experts say Miami-based Burger King’s move...

...what I think Markey demonstrates with his answer here is that many of the people advocating such a tax also thirst for more revenue from people making much less — such as Markey’s low six-figure salary as a member of Congress. He talks about raising the Alternative Minimum Tax — the original “Buffett Rule” tax, intended to hit a select few — which today hits the middle class in many parts of America that have a high cost of living...

The House on Wednesday passed Republicans' own version of the Buffett Rule, which allows wealthy Americans to voluntarily pony up to reduce the deficit. The bill, labeled the Buffett Rule Act, passed by voice vote, meaning Democrats and Republicans agreed with it. Under the legislation, which would still need Senate approval, taxpayers could check a box on their taxes and send in a check for more than they owe to the IRS. "If Warren Buffett and others like him truly feel they're not paying enough in taxes, they can use the Buffett Rule Act to put their money where their...

So far, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has done a remarkable job of sticking to his message, focusing on economic growth, job creation, and now repealing ObamaCare. President Barack Obama, on the other hand, has largely run a campaign of distractions, using an “issue of the week” approach to attack Romney and to draw media attention away from his controversial record and the ailing economy. However, if you had to pick out a more substantive message for his campaign, it would have to be “fairness.” President Obama has hammered on the point of “fairness” over and over since campaign season...

With Gallop poll suggesting Americans favor higher taxes, republicans need to have a short and sweet answer. So how about, let Mr. Buffett pay all the taxes that he owes (he has unpaid tax issues)first before we make add another line to our tax code!

President Barack Obama has gotten a lot of mileage out of touting his “Buffett Rule” to force millionaires to pay more in taxes. Maybe he thinks earning three-quarters of a million gives him a free ride. . .

We’ve decided on a new feature at Conservative Outcry – a daily (meaning as often as we get to it) response to a randomly chosen Wonkette article.Although we pay very little attention to Wonkette, many liberals seem to enjoy their musings.It is a known fact, however, that liberals are frequently incapable of discerning fact from fiction; especially, when fiction is presented in the form of a “left-leaning American online magazine of topical satire and political gossip”. While there is nothing wrong with satire, satire should always be based in fact. There is nothing funny about…hmmm…how do liberals say is...oh yes, non-truths (as opposed...

The president seemingly lost a major fight Monday when the Senate shot down his “Buffett rule” minimum tax on the wealthy. Or did he? For that matter, if it had passed, what would he have achieved? “This legislation will do nothing with regard to job creation, with regard to gas prices, with regard to economic recovery,” said Sen. John Kyl of Arizona, one of the Republicans who blocked the measure from getting the necessary 60 votes for continued debate. To that we might add...

Reporting from Washington— Republican-led opposition blocked the 'Buffett rule' from advancing in the Senate, turning back an election year effort by President Obama to slap a new tax rate on those earning beyond $1 million a year. Nearly all Republicans voted against the measure, a potentially risky move at a time when 60% of voters support the measure, according to a recent Gallup poll, as a way to ensure wealthy Americans pay their fair share of taxes. Democrats are likely to revive the effort in coming months. “Continuing to allow some of the wealthiest Americans to use special tax breaks...

President Obama admits it: His proposed “Buffett Rule” tax on millionaires is a gimmick. “There are others who are saying, ‘Well, this is just a gimmick. Just taxing millionaires and billionaires, just imposing the Buffett Rule, won’t do enough to close the deficit,’ ” Obama declared Wednesday. “Well, I agree.” Actually, the gimmick was apparent even without the president’s acknowledgment. He gave his remarks in a room in the White House complex adorned with campaign-style photos of his factory tours. On stage with him were eight props: four millionaires, each paired with a middle-class assistant. The octet smiled and nodded...

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama says the nation can't afford to keep giving tax cuts to the wealthiest, "who don't need them and didn't even ask for them." Obama is using his weekly radio and Internet address to urge Americans to ask their member of Congress to support the "Buffett Rule," which is named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who says he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.

Vice President Joe Biden, bless his heart, tried hard to explain the White House's position on “fairness” during a stop in Exeter on Thursday. He blew so much hot air, the U.S.S. Constitution could have set sail. “We're not supposed to have a system with one set of rules for the wealthy and one set of rules for everyone else,” he said. Yet the Buffet Rule Biden was in town to promote creates a separate tax for millionaires that no one else has to pay. It is the definition of creating one set of rules for the wealthy and another...

French 75 pct tax rate would last years -Hollande aide PARIS, April 10 | Tue Apr 10, 2012 11:26am EDT (Reuters) - The 75 percent tax rate that French presidential frontrunner Francois Hollande wants to slap on income over 1 million euros will be kept in place for many years, in line with the broader debt reduction effort, a top adviser to the Socialist candidate said on Tuesday. In an interview with Reuters, Hollande adviser Michel Sapin said the 75 percent rate was more a symbolic measure than a big moneyspinner for the state but should stay in place for...

President Obama’s Secretary Paid Higher Tax Rate Than He Did President Obama today released his 2011 federal income tax, with he and his wife reporting an adjusted gross income of $789,674. The Obamas paid $162,074 in total tax – an effective federal income tax rate of 20.5%. The Obamas also reported donating approximately 22% of their income to charity — $172,130. President Obama has been making a big political push for the “Buffett Rule,” which would require millionaires to pay a minimum of 30% of their income in taxes. To illustrate the point, the president has pointed out that billionaire...

The Buffett Rule improves tax fairness by ensuring Americans who make more than $1 million a year can’t get special deals to pay a lower rate than many middle-class families. Mitt Romney opposes the Buffett Rule because it would mean people like him would have to pay more. In fact, Romney’s tax plan gives the average millionaire a $250,000 tax cut. To pay for these massive tax cuts, Romney will either drive up the deficit, gut programs important to the middle class, or both. Use the calculator to see how the Buffett Rule would level the playing field.

Va-va-va-VandeHei! NewsBusters has frequently documented Politico's Dem-friendly tilt. But a pronounced flying pig moment for Politico this morning as its executive editor Jim VandeHei: ripped the Obama campaign as "insanely political;" described the Buffett Rule as "total gimmickry;" and opined that President Obama has given up on promoting any big ideas in favor of targeting various demographic groups. View the video here.

Obama and his rich pals think you are just another useful idiot like the Occupy (OWS) crowd. While Obama seeks to enact the “Buffett Rule” to place a higher tax burden on families/small businesses that make $250K per year or more, his Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is suing Warren Buffett. Obama’s pal just doesn’t want to pay his taxes… but he has no problem stumping for Obama and calling for a higher tax burden on families and small businesses. “Get this: Uncle Sam is suing Warren Buffett’s company over taxes. Yes, taxes. The US government, in a little-followed case in...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to increase taxes on millionaires, reviving a proposal he first pitched last September that aims to draw sharp election-year lines between the president and the Republican opposition. The plan, scheduled for a vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate on April 16, stands little chance of passing in Congress.

There goes the Buffett rule. Remember that political gambit, in which billionaire Warren Buffett pretended he was going to pay a much higher tax bill and President Obama pretended that raising rates on millionaires would make a dent in his hemorrhaging budget deficits? In one fell swoop Wednesday, Congress's tax scorekeeper punctured both phony claims. The analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation also showed less wealthy taxpayers why the Buffett ruse would eventually end up exposing them to higher taxes. With Mr. Buffett's help, Mr. Obama promoted the fairy tale that millionaires pay lower tax rates than their middle-class...

Say goodbye to the much-loathed Alternative Minimum Tax and hello to the Buffett Rule. Sweet relief. The AMT has perplexed taxpayers and agonized accountants for decades. But wait: Are the AMT and the Buffett Rule really so different? The two take aim at different types of tax avoidance, so the details have little in common. But the headline is the same: Both were designed to make sure that wealthy citizens pay their fair share of income tax -- without creating a tax monster that somehow reaches down to regular people. When the AMT came into being in 1969, rich people...