Warren Buffett: rich Americans are 'definitely undertaxed'
Warren Buffett, the billionnaire investor and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, said on Monday that wealthy Americans are not paying sufficient levels of tax.
"The wealthy are definitely undertaxed relative to the general population," Buffett told CNBC earlier today.
"As we get more specialized, the rich will get richer. The question is: ‘How do you take care of a guy who is a wonderful citizen whose father died in Normandy and just doesn't have market skills?' I think the income tax credit is the best way to address that."
2019 will probably see us again expanding our holdings of marketable equities. We continue, nevertheless, to hope for an elephant-sized acquisition"
"That probably means more taxes for guys like me, and I'm fine with it," he added.
Buffett's remarks come following the publication of his annual letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. The missive, sent every year since 1965, has become famous for its wit and gobbets of wisdom.
In this year's letter, published on Saturday, Buffett warned of "sky-high" prices on the stock market. He said this would mean his company, Berkshire Hathaway, will struggle to acquire a big firm this year. He wrote: "2019 will probably see us again expanding our holdings of marketable equities. We continue, nevertheless, to hope for an elephant-sized acquisition."
His central tenet over the years has been to spot, and invest in, good companies when they are undervalued. The so-called "Oracle of Omaha" has an estimated fortune of $75bn. Some of his most famous quotes include:
- "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."
- "You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out"
- "Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful."
- "I just sit in my office and read all day."
- "It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results."
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