Warren Buffett Says No Estate Tax Would Be a Gift to the Rich

Buffett Says No Estate Tax Would Be a Gift to the Rich


By BLOOMBERG NEWS
Published: November 15, 2007

Warren E. Buffett urged Congress yesterday to maintain the estate tax, saying that plans to repeal the tax would benefit a handful of the richest American families and widen income disparity in the United States.

Warren Buffett said on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that the estate tax helps keep the nation from becoming a “plutocracy.”

Mr. Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, told the Senate Finance Committee that advocates of repeal were “dead wrong” to call the tax a “death tax.”

It would be more appropriate to call it a “death present,” Mr. Buffett, 77, said. “A meaningful estate tax is needed to prevent our democracy from becoming a dynastic plutocracy.”

Congressional Democrats are likely to seize on Mr. Buffett’s comments to bolster their argument that repeal of the estate tax amounts to a windfall for a few wealthy families. Republicans have pushed to eliminate the tax permanently or reduce the rate and exempt more estates by raising the value at which the tax takes effect.

Mr. Buffett said that in the last 20 years, tax laws have allowed the “superrich” to become richer.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/business/15buffett.html?_r=1&ex=1352869200&en=54c0388f3c5975c2&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Why in the hell doesn't he buy up media outlets and make sure that everyone knows the super rich should pay for the last 20 years?

Just saying, he has the ability to combat the propaganda being spewed by the 'I've got mine, fuck you' crowd who control the media.

When it comes to people with unbelievable amounts of money, he is one of very few that actually does something good with it. If he doesn't want to get into the media debacle in this country I don't blame him for not doing it.

A book by Pulitzer Prize winner David Cay Johnston

Exposes exactly what Warren Buffett is saying...
http://www.perfectlylegalthebook.com/

A great way to describe it :thumbsup:

Buffet has challenged the elite members of the Forbes 400 list to do their own calculations and compare their tax rate with their receptionists, and then consider his challenge that the rich should pay more.

"I see nothing wrong with those who have been blessed by this society to give a larger portion of their income to the society than somebody that's working very, very hard to make ends meet," Buffett said.

ABC even offered to help Buffett by calling some of the richest 400 and offering to do the tax calculations for them. There were no takers, although the few that returned ABC's calls were polite and left nice voice mails.

"We must regretfully decline," said one.

"Unfortunately he has decided to decline," proclaimed another

"He'd like to decline the interview. … Thank you anyway."

More then 25 billionaires including Ted Turner and Michael Bloomberg declined to talk to ABC News. But some of them sounded off to Forbes magazine. One suggested that Buffett should keep to his area of expertise, calling his ideas "grossly simplistic." Another wondered whether Buffett is going senile.


http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3869458&page=1

If you die with an estate tax liability, you didn't plan correctly. That's why this is such a bogus issue.

The consequences of doing away with it will be dire, though. Not because the government collects that much money directly from it, but because of all the ways that people avoid paying it. Many charities and non-profits depend upon the bequests they get from wealthy donors who set up trusts to avoid estate taxes. It's estimated that the loss to the non-profit sector (through which about 1/3 of social services are delivered) could be as high as $10 billion annually. We're talking organizations that help the poor, hospitals, colleges, arts programs, etc. Where will that money come from?

The Flat Tax disinformation completely ignores this as well.

Yes the trusts as well as yearly giving is crucial to these organizations. I don't have experience in trusts but I did do income tax returns one year for a mid-level accounting firms and there just happened to be a whole lot of checks written the last week of the year to make net taxes due equal zero. Good for them for giving but without this incentive Not-for-profits would die off rather quickly.

EXCELLENT POINT.

We'll have millions begging in the street, literally overnight. I've been saying for quite some time: The true value of a progressive tax system is not so much the taxes themselves, as it is all the ways society benefits from people AVOIDING taxes.