Warren Buffett on Income Taxes

#57
#57
Heard a commentator yesterday that made an interesting point. The majority of Buffett's income comes from profits of a corporation in the form of dividends which is taxed at the capital gains rate. However, this money has already been taxed once at the corporate level. Thus, Buffett's income is actually taxed at a much higher rate than his assistants.
 
#58
#58
vols4sure said:
Heard a commentator yesterday that made an interesting point. The majority of Buffett's income comes from profits of a corporation in the form of dividends which is taxed at the capital gains rate. However, this money has already been taxed once at the corporate level. Thus, Buffett's income is actually taxed at a much higher rate than his assistants.
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Saw that yesterday too. Would love to get Buffet's response to that.
 
#59
#59
rjd970 said:
Got it. So no opinion expressed, ever, in any context, in any forum on taxes absolutely has to include commentary on spending. And vice versa.
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You said yourself the article is about cutting the deficit. Spending is a pretty large component of that equation, is it not? If you want to make a well-balanced argument, it should include the core tenet of all taxation, and that is to pay for government spending.

He makes the argument that he pays less than his secretary, so if he wants a one sided argument, an answer just as easy as his is to lower his secretary's taxes.
 
#60
#60
golfballs03 said:
You said yourself the article is about cutting the deficit. Spending is a pretty large component of that equation, is it not? If you want to make a well-balanced argument, it should include the core tenet of all taxation, and that is to pay for government spending.

He makes the argument that he pays less than his secretary, so if he wants a one sided argument, an answer just as easy as his is to lower his secretary's taxes.
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The article is about the deficit and taxes. I don't know how else to explain it to you. Request an article on spending if you want your warm fuzzy.
 
#61
#61
rjd970 said:
The article is about the deficit and taxes. I don't know how else to explain it to you. Request an article on spending if you want your warm fuzzy.
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there's an important component that missing. that's my point! so convenient not to mention it in order to make your point.
 
#62
#62
BeecherVol said:
This.
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What is the problem with progressivity?

Everything else is unfair and undermines my freedom.

I never understand why people are so willing for the first two maxims and then totally bail on the third (and the most important). :dunno:
 
#63
#63
vols4sure said:
Heard a commentator yesterday that made an interesting point. The majority of Buffett's income comes from profits of a corporation in the form of dividends which is taxed at the capital gains rate. However, this money has already been taxed once at the corporate level. Thus, Buffett's income is actually taxed at a much higher rate than his assistants.
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No, the corporation is an individual and should be paying the individual tax rate.

This individual then disburses checks to other individuals which constitutes income.
 
#64
#64
utgibbs said:
No, the corporation is an individual and should be paying the individual tax rate.

This individual then disburses checks to other individuals which constitutes income.
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so the more they give in tax to the govt the less they can give in income? Sounds like a winner
 
#65
#65
utgibbs said:
What is the problem with progressivity?

Everything else is unfair and undermines my freedom.

I never understand why people are so willing for the first two maxims and then totally bail on the third (and the most important). :dunno:
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Makes a man wonder why its listed 3rd.:)

Simple and transparent will work fine for me and my freedom. If it stays at that, the government doesn't have a chance to screw up the "progressive" part.

Of course if you believe government (which includes politicians) are really looking out for you and your best interests you won't see it that way.
 
#66
#66
BeecherVol said:
Makes a man wonder why its listed 3rd.:)

Simple and transparent will work fine for me and my freedom. If it stays at that, the government doesn't have a chance to screw up the "progressive" part.

Of course if you believe government (which includes politicians) are really looking out for you and your best interests you won't see it that way.
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Because the acronym STP sounds cool.

I think Adam Smith listed it first.
 
#67
#67
utgibbs said:
Because the acronym STP sounds cool.

I think Adam Smith listed it first.
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Looks cool here.
1972-Dodge-Charger-NASCAR-Race-Car-American-Racing-Legend-Richard-Petty-In-His-Car-1024x768.jpg

Thats about it tho.
 
#70
#70
Progressive tax rates are totally bogus. With a constant tax rate, those with higher incomes automatically pay more. That's not enough? They have to pay a higher percentage too? Why? How is that moral? It is wrong for the government to treat any group differently than another group. That includes groups based on income levels just as much as on race or religion. I would even go so far as to say that it would be wrong for the government to treat an Alabama fan worse than real human beings.
 
#71
#71
Also, it is a lie that Warren buffet pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. She is taxed based on her salary. He is taxed based on the profit his investments make. If a company has its profits taxed prior to him getting his cut, then his cut is taxed after he gets it, then his effective tax rate is much higher than his nominal rate.
 
#72
#72
utvolpj said:
so the more they give in tax to the govt the less they can give in income? Sounds like a winner
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It is a winner, but I can go one better.

If we were really smart we'd tax "fake people" (sic) more and real people less.

But, we can't even get our collective heads around progressivity, so how can we make such an imaginative, daring leap?
 
#73
#73
RespectTradition said:
Progressive tax rates are totally bogus. With a constant tax rate, those with higher incomes automatically pay more. That's not enough? They have to pay a higher percentage too? Why? How is that moral? It is wrong for the government to treat any group differently than another group. That includes groups based on income levels just as much as on race or religion. I would even go so far as to say that it would be wrong for the government to treat an Alabama fan worse than real human beings.
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This is faux-economics, misused (and trivial) statistics, and bad citizenship all rolled into one. Adam Smith disagrees with you strongly.

The higher the income, the more benefits one accrues from the government. It is simply paying for what you actually receive.
 
#74
#74
RespectTradition said:
Also, it is a lie that Warren buffet pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. She is taxed based on her salary. He is taxed based on the profit his investments make. If a company has its profits taxed prior to him getting his cut, then his cut is taxed after he gets it, then his effective tax rate is much higher than his nominal rate.
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Again incorrect.

A legal person (Berkshire Hath...) receives income then disperses said income in a variety of ways. It should do this like other (real) people, but special rules have been written to ensure this class of "people" pay less.

If you want to take away legal personhood from corporations, then we'll talk about your argument.
 
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#75
#75
utgibbs said:
Again incorrect.

A legal person (Berkshire Hath...) receives income then disperses said income in a variety of ways. It should do this like other (real) people, but special rules have been written to ensure this class of "people" pay less.

If you want to take away legal personhood from corporations, then we'll talk about your argument.
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I asked you this before and you conveniently ignored it.

Should corporations like the New York Times get First Amendment Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech or should that only go to individuals who self publish newspapers?
 
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