Stop Coddling Super Rich - Warren Buffet
WRITING in the Op-Ed page of the New York Times, yesterday, Billionaire investor and one of the world's Super Rich, said that he and his rich friends have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. He said that while the poor and middle class fight in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, the mega-rich continue to get extraordinary tax breaks. He said that legislators in Washington have showered upon the rich blessings, as if they were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It's nice to have friends in high places.
Warren paid nearly 7 Million dollars as taxes last year. Though this may sound like a lot of money, surprisingly what he paid was only 17.4 percent of his taxable income. And that is a lower percentage than what was paid by 20 of his employees, who paid an average of 36 percent taxes.
He said, “If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine — most likely by a lot”.
Does higher tax scare away the investors? Warren doesn't think so. He says, “I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone - not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 - shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what's happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation”.
President Obama was quick to react. He said in a Town Hall Meeting in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, ”Warren Buffett said that he pays a lower tax rate than anybody in his office, including the secretary. He figured out that his tax bill, he paid about 17 percent. And the reason is because most of his wealth comes from capital gains. You don't get those tax breaks. You're paying more than that. And -- now, I may be wrong, but I think you're a little less wealthy than Warren Buffett. That's just a guess”. The Americans there just laughed.
Does this apply to India?