Very interesting post by Ryan Bell

 Warren Buffett's company Berkshire-Hathaway owes over $1 billion in unpaid taxes to the IRS, and B-H owned NetJets Inc. owes $366 million in unpaid taxes. B-H has been involved in a protracted legal battle with the IRS for about a decade now (back to 2002 in unpaid taxes). While Warren Buffett complains that the rich aren’t paying their fair share his own company has been fighting tooth and nail to avoid paying a larger share. Warren Buffet is no different from the other liars and frauds orbiting Barack Obama. His hypocrisy just runs billions of dollars deeper. When it comes to “shared sacrifice,” you do the sacrificing, and they do the sharing.

 Meanwhile, the media glosses over another one of Buffett’s tax-minimizing moves:investing in Bank of America, which enables Berkshire to pay a 14.175 percent tax rate on the money it receives as dividends from BOA — rather than the typical 35 percent corporate federal income tax rate.

 Buffett’s free to back Obama, of course, and if his firm wants to keep its tax bill low, well, that’s its right, too. But it would be nice if this “pro-tax-hike” tycoon were a bit more honest about it.

 Start, for example, with his grossly disingenuous claim that, as he wrote in The New York Times, he paid only 17 percent of his income last year to the government -- even as many working stiffs who make far less than him coughed up higher percentages.
 Fact is, unlike most other folks, Warren Buffett gets most of his income from dividends and capital gains, which are nominally taxed at 15 percent.

 Left unsaid is that much of that is taxed at 35 percent (via the corporate income tax, assuming no legal loopholes were used to lower the effective tax rate beyond the actual, but that is a failure of the tax code, not an impetus to avoid the problem by increasing the rate) before he even gets his hands on it. So in effect, he’s paying taxes twice (that is, when his companies actually pay, anyway).

 Counting both taxes, his effective rate would really be well north of 40 percent for a big chunk of his income.

 Nevermind the fact that he invested heavily in Goldman Sachs, US Bank Corp and other big banks (to the tune of 30% of Berkshires publicly disclosed holdings) just around the time the argument for TARP was going on.... and lobbied for TARP directly to both Sec Paulson of the Bush Admin and with Candidate Obama.... (something which would likely be convicted and which an investor for him retired under suspicion of doing in the private realm). And then had the testicular fortitude to come out and condemn TARP a year or two ago after he made BILLIONS from it. The guy is a schmutz. Please note that all these fair share pencil dicks do not voluntarily pay more in income tax. They pay the minimum.

 Warren Buffett should feel free to donate all the money he wants to the government, but his plan to have the government forcibly extract more wealth from the so-called wealthy amounts to advocating robbery from a sector that is a major contributor to economic growth, much of the angst that results in this urge to tax those with 1million+ income is two fold: 1. The American middle and lower class are hurting, bad. 2. They want to hurt the 1%

 The problem here is this won't necessarily help #1, and when it comes to #2, the 1% are not the same group that is the majority of those with 1million+. The top 1% know how this game is played, they have tax loophole experts and so on. I can guarantee you they will not pay a penny more than they want to even if you increase the rates.

 What do you expect from a man who gives thanks to special subsidies for his fortune? I can’t name a company he invests in or outright owns that doesn’t get extreme special privileges from the taxpaying public, usually at his own personal behest.

 In 2004, The Wall Street Journal suggested to Buffett that he should make sure his money would go to the government if he felt so strongly about the need for an estate tax. The Journal challenged him not to take advantage of the loophole in estate-tax laws by donating his wealth to a foundation before his death. However, as everyone knows by now, this is exactly what Buffett did when he pledged to give $31 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and another $6 billion to foundations run by his children.

 Warren Buffett is a CLASSIC example of the American 1% that benefits massively from evading taxes and gaining a competitive edge through lobbied government subsidies. If you want an example of the corporatist class and "crony capitalism", look no further. THIS is EXACTLY how they operate. This is why it is so hilarious that the Democrats rally around this guy.

 **ANYONE** is allowed to advocate for higher taxes on the rich, but no one is allowed to controvert the evidence or make up facts. Anyone is allowed to say the rich are not paying enough, and to advocate higher taxes, but don't be a hypocrite while you are doing it.

 Actions speak louder than words, Mr. Buffett. It would be interesting to know what Warren Buffet would say to the question of why he doesn't just voluntarily pay more taxes?

 Mr. Buffett, why do you want other people to be forced to do something you are unwilling to do voluntarily? Talk is cheap. Put your money where your mouth is. Buffett is apparently unaware that he is making it crystal clear he is a complete phony. If he voluntarily paid more taxes he could quickly go from being a phony to being an inspiration. Show some leadership. Go from having no credibility to having tons of it. Why is it necessary to wait until your fellow millionaires and billionaires are forced to join you?