.
Warren Buffett has a
history of trying to minimize his own taxes. One case was resolved
in 2005, another has been ongoing for almost a decade. He knows people are 'suffering' but says others should pay.
8/30/11, "
Buffett’s Billion-Dollar Tax Hypocrisy," Bill Wilson, NetRight Daily
"
Writing for the New York Times recently, Berkshire Hathaway chairman and chief executive Warren Buffett
called for taxes to be increased on the so-called “super-rich,” suggesting that he and his
- elite billionaire and millionaire friends are itching to pay more.
Buffett wrote, “Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their
- fellow citizens are truly suffering.”
Of course, if that’s the case, why doesn’t Buffett’s company settle its own ongoing tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)? As Americans for Limited Government (ALG) has reported exclusively — a story given national attention by a New York Post editorial — according to Berkshire Hathaway’s own annual report, the company has been embroiled in an
- ongoing standoff over its tax bills.
Using only publicly-available documents, a certified public accountant (CPA) detailed Berkshire Hathaway’s tax problems to ALG researcher Richard McCarty. Now, the American people have a better idea of how much in back taxes the company could owe Uncle Sam.
According to page 56 of the company report, “At December 31, 2010… net unrecognized tax benefits were $1,005 million”, or about $1 billion. McCarty explained, “Unrecognized tax benefits represent the company’s potential future obligation to the IRS and other taxing authorities. They have to be recorded in the company’s financial statements.”
$1 billion is not an insignificant chunk of change, even for Buffett, representing about 0.2 percent of the company’s $372 billion in total assets.
So, on one hand Buffett advocates for paying more taxes, but when it comes to his own company’s taxes, he has gone through great lengths to pay less. That’s rich....
McCarty pointed to a prior tax fight the company fought. “Apparently, this is not the first time that Berkshire Hathaway has tangled with the IRS. They fought a 14-year battle over the dividends received deduction. That case was just resolved in 2005,” McCarty said.
Although the prior case was settled in Buffett’s favor, it demonstrates a decades-long
- pattern of behavior by Buffett to minimize his taxes.
- That’s the important part of the story."...
via American Thinker
