Warren Buffett: “Lower My Taxes!”
By Randall Holcombe • Tuesday March 6, 2012 1:44 PM PDT • 9 Comments
Warren Buffett has recently made headlines by saying that the rich — people like him — should be taxed more. But as I noted before, he went to court to dispute taxes the IRS said he owed, rather than just pay what the government said was, if not his fair share, at least his legal obligation. If he thinks he should pay more, why doesn’t he at least pay what the IRS says he owes?
Now, according to this story, NetJets, one of Buffett’s companies, spent $1.5 million lobbying Congress for a specific provision in the Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act that would save his company $25 million a year over the next three years in lower taxes.
For someone who argues that rich people like him should pay more in taxes, Mr. Buffett certainly works hard to see that the higher taxes he advocates for other rich people won’t apply to him. When you spend that much to lobby for lower taxes, that goes some distance toward explaining how he could pay a lower tax rate than his secretary.
Tags: Budget and Tax Policy, Economics, Integrity, Politics, Taxation 
Excellent article. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. The man is a politician first and a capitalist/businessman second even though he doesn’t hold office. Unfortunately his word has far too much sway in the minds of many.
Daniel | Mar 6, 2012 | Reply
WOW! Your actions speak much louder than your words, Mr. Buffett... they really do!
Seediyore | Mar 7, 2012 | Reply
After all he’s said about being willing to pay more in taxes, Warren Buffet spent $1.5 MILLION to AVOID paying more taxes and went to court to dispute what the IRS says he owes? WOW! Truly, actions speak louder than words... they really do!
Seediyore | Mar 7, 2012 | Reply
Limousine Liberals like Warren Buffett are hypocrites. Most of their wealth is tied up in Tax Free Endowments, Trusts and Foundations. With that said, I believe the question to ask is not who pays or how much one pays in taxes,but what the government spending goes for. The problem is not a Revenue problem but a Spending problem. The fact is that Income Taxes only account for about 38% of what the Federal government receives in revenue.The rest is made up of other taxes,tariffs,fees,corporate taxes plus borrowing. The Income Tax on the Federal level pays basically the interest on the National Debt. If the Federal government could cut spending 50% in real terms America wouldn’t need an Income Tax and could pay off it’s National Debt. Plus there would be more resources left for the private sector to create real jobs by investing and growing the Economy. Handing more money to the Federal government is like handing a bottle of liquor and your car keys to an irresponsible teenager.
libertarian jerry | Mar 7, 2012 | Reply
CONsgress = Bunch of Drunken Sailors
Port = WASHingTON District of Children
Get a NEW SIMPLIFIED TAX CODE
Get Real: CUT SPENDING 2% EACH YEAR FOR 10 YEARS! !!
Dan R | Mar 7, 2012 | Reply
Thanks for the enlightening article. I am sure the phrase ‘actions speak louder than words’ come to mind here. What is he really trying to say?
Graham | Mar 8, 2012 | Reply
It is an interesting article, but don’t confuse Corporate taxes with individual Income taxes. Nobody would say he isn’t a good business man, and good business is to be competitive. The 25 million is tax savings will go to the business, not into his pocket.
S Pearson | Mar 8, 2012 | Reply
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samantha | Jul 18, 2012 | Reply