Warren Buffett

Senate To Vote On Buffett Rule

Brian Beutler | April 16, 2012, 5:00AM

Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

The Senate returns from a two-week recess Monday to tee off a fight over inequality, GOP anti-tax absolutism and the budget that will persist until Election Day.

After months of build-up, the Senate will vote on legislation that enshrines the "Buffett Rule" -- the principle that no one who makes more than $1 million a year should pay a lower effective tax rate than an average, middle-class American.

The bill is set to fail, on a party-line vote, thanks to a Republican filibuster -- and thus illustrate to voters where the two parties' priorities truly lie.

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David Axelrod

Dems, GOP Prepare For Battle Over Dueling Tax Reforms

Sahil Kapur | April 15, 2012, 5:30PM

Image from Chepko Danil Vitalevich/ Shutterstock

On tax week, Democrats and Republicans return to Washington gearing up for battle over dueling tax proposals. The separate votes this week will highlight a fundamental divide between the two parties, one that promises to define the choice in the 2012 election.

The Republican-led House is set to take up legislation, spearheaded by Majority Leader Eric Cantor, that lets businesses with fewer than 500 employees deduct as much as 20 percent of their 2012 business income. The bill is projected to cost $46 billion, and the tax benefits are tilted toward high earners, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Across the Capitol, the Democratic-led Senate is poised to vote Monday on "Buffett Rule" legislation that requires millionaires and billionaires to pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes. The measure is projected to raise $47 billion over 10 years if the Bush tax cuts expire; Democrats say that number rises to $160 billion under current policy.

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Buffett Rule

How Washington Forgot Where The 'Buffett Rule' Came From

Brian Beutler | April 13, 2012, 5:08AM

It's been nearly seven months since President Obama introduced the Buffett Rule. He first described it at the White House last September, shortly after the GOP's persistent refusal to take any new tax revenue from wealthy Americans sank his bid to pass major deficit-reduction legislation and nearly turned the standoff over raising the debt ceiling into a full-blown economic calamity.

At the time the "rule" was only a principle: People who make over $1 million a year should pay at least as high an effective tax rate as middle-class Americans. In context, it served a clear purpose: With the parties poised for a major, unavoidable conflict over the budget and national priorities, Republicans needed to be broken of their anti-tax orthodoxy. The Buffett Rule was a politically bulletproof cudgel, and popular with President Obama's base to boot. It wouldn't on its own solve the country's long-run budget problems, but that wasn't the point -- this was a small piece of a broader package of fiscal policies Obama had introduced. But it served a huge symbolic purpose. The real point was to pull back the veil on the GOP's true vision for the country, force them to deal sensibly on key national priorities. And if Democrats reaped a political bounty in the process, all the better.

Fast forward to this week. Americans are paying their taxes, Mitt Romney -- a poster child for tax inequity -- has all but cinched the GOP presidential nomination, Obama has renewed his push for the Buffett Rule and the Senate will hold a vote on a Buffett Rule bill next week. The synergy is clear, and intentional -- part of a careful political strategy. But the upshot thus far isn't that Republicans are retreating from their anti-tax absolutism (they're not) but that high-profile members of the commentariat have forgotten all of this history.

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Mitt Romney

Romney Spins 'Buffett Rule' As Boon For Warren Buffett

Sahil Kapur | April 11, 2012, 2:01PM

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney's latest line of attack against President Obama's proposal to make sure millionaires don't pay a lower income tax rate than the middle class plays ironically on a familiar theme. It's hardly a tool to ensure people like Warren Buffett pay their fair share, says his campaign, but rather a sort-of kickback for Buffett himself.

But that's not quite true.

As Obama touted the "Buffett Rule" in a televised speech Wednesday for the second day in a row, Romney's economic policy adviser Kevin Hassett delivered the campaign's response during a morning call with reporters.

"The rule, I think, is also an example of Washington at its worst," Hassett said. "It exempts municipal bond interests from the harsh capital treatment and you might wonder why, given that we're calling it the Buffett Rule -- I think it's no coincidence Berkshire [Hathaway, Buffett's firm] has been a big player in municipal bond markets."

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Barack Obama

White House Ramps Up Push For 'Buffett Rule' With Romney Nomination Looming

Brian Beutler | April 10, 2012, 6:06AM

President Barack Obama during his 2012 "State of the Union" address

Ahead of a Senate vote next week to put members on record supporting or opposing the so-called "Buffett Rule," the White House is rolling out a public campaign to tout the notion that people who make more than $1 million a year should pay a bigger share of their income in taxes than middle-class Americans.

The subtext is heavily political. On Monday, the Obama campaign hosted a conference call to pressure likely GOP nominee Mitt Romney to release years of tax returns after Romney revealed that his own effective tax rate last year was below 15 percent. And on Tuesday, Obama himself will travel to Florida to publicly push the Buffett Rule.

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Budget

How Obama's Budget Throws A Big Punch At The GOP

Brian Beutler | February 13, 2012, 1:47PM

President Barack Obama during his 2012 "State of the Union" address

President Obama's fiscal year 2013 budget envisions the economy healing steadily after years of hemorrhaging and stagnation -- and key government services surviving mostly despite the violence done to the federal ledger by the Bush tax cuts, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the 2008 financial crisis.

It also shows federal deficits declining steadily over the coming decade, and the national debt stabilizing as a share of GDP over the same period.

These are the consequences of multiple, competing strategic ideas:

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Taxes

Senate Democrats Plan To Put Republicans On The Wrong Side Of The Middle Class

Brian Beutler | January 25, 2012, 3:11PM

Senate Democrats are preparing an aggressive legislative agenda to complement the vision President Obama outlined in his State of the Union Address. The goal is to test the idea that the public supports an agenda of aggressive federal action on behalf of the middle class, and that Republicans are locked in a pattern of reactionary opposition, even to popular policies.

The push is premised on the notion that the country has turned the corner on the fights over deficits and the size of government, and that keeping issues of equity and opportunity for the middle class at the center of the national debate will redound to Democrats' political benefit, either by breaking the GOP or by putting them on the wrong side of public opinion.

But in an extremely consequential election year, when consensus becomes an endangered species on Capitol Hill, it will take a groundswell of political pressure to force either party to work with the other on a substantive agenda. So expect the Dems to hawk these issues relentlessly.

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State Of The Union

State Of The Union: Obama's Point-By-Point Romney Refutation

Brian Beutler | January 24, 2012, 10:55PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama's State of the Union address was premised on two political bets: that there's a broad national appetite, spanning conservative and liberal ideologies, for certain populist reforms; and that Republicans in Congress are too deeply committed to opposing his agenda to back those reforms along side him.

His speech was peppered with the sorts of proposals that play well across the country. But after executing a three year plan of partisan opposition to his full agenda, Republicans can't possibly support them -- and that puts them on the steep side of an election Obama is framing while Republican presidential hopefuls tear each other down.

It was also sharp-elbowed. It read in a way as a series of critiques of the GOP's most prominent rhetorical attacks on Democratic priorities, and as a piecemeal rebuttal of the talking points his most likely general election opponent Mitt Romney has levied against him in a bid to shore up support among Republican base voters.

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Mitt Romney

Finding The Real Deal On Romney's Offshore Investments

Brian Beutler | January 19, 2012, 2:59PM

Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann.

On Tuesday, Mitt Romney finally acknowledged what we've long suspected: that, despite earning millions of dollars a year, his tax rate is approximately 15 percent -- the same as it would be if he were a teacher earning $50,000 a year.

The disclosure touched off a flurry of news stories -- some about the rigged nature of the U.S. tax code, most about how this fact would play in the primary and general elections. Then on Wednesday ABC News broke another story. Romney, it turns out, has a lot of money invested in offshore funds -- the sort of funds you used to hear about years ago when wealthy people, foreign investors, private pensions and others would invest and shelter their money.

The timing of the ABC story couldn't have been better for those hoping to create a hazy sense that Romney's some kind of tax avoider. But they're largely two different things.

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Budget

CHART: A Hidden Source Of Budget Deficits

Brian Beutler | January 12, 2012, 12:26PM

Dmitry Rukhlenko / Shutterstock

Before Warren Buffett and Mitt Romney enter a bidding war over who will volunteer more of their millions to reduce the deficit, the government could recoup many billions of dollars every year if Congress just made it easier for the Treasury to collect what it's already owed by law.

Meet the tax gap -- the difference between taxes owed and taxes paid.

Via the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the IRS has found that in 2006, taxpayers shorted the government by about $385 billion -- and an additional $65 billion was paid late. Back then, the tax gap was bigger than the annual budget deficit. With the economy still suffering, that's likely not true today. But closing it even partially would take substantial pressure off of strained federal programs, which have been under constant attack by the GOP for over a year.

As you can see, the tax gap is on the order of the government's biggest expenditure categories, and dwarfs the voluntary contributions Republicans suggest wealthy liberals like Buffett should volunteer to the Treasury.

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Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett: I'll Pay Up If Republicans Do The Same

David Taintor | January 11, 2012, 5:45PM

It has been a few months since billionaire Warren Buffett called on President Obama to "stop coddling the super-rich" and raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

His "Buffett Rule" sparked some backlash, especially from Republicans, who suggested that Buffett should cut the U.S. government a check if he's so eager to pay his fair share of the nation's debts. Well, Buffett tells TIME magazine that he's willing to do just that. He's willing to match one-for-one any donation by a Republican member of Congress -- except for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, he gets three for one.

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Mitt Romney

Here's What Romney's Unreleased Tax Returns Almost Certainly Hide

Brian Beutler | January 5, 2012, 5:32AM

Mitt Romney still says he's unlikely to publicly release his tax information, even if he clinches the Republican presidential nomination, and Democrats have a pretty good idea why.

Romney is a privileged poster child for the "Buffett Rule" -- President Obama's principle that the tax code should make it impossible for a person of great wealth to pay a lower share of their income in taxes than ordinary people. The DNC knows it, policy wonks know it, Romney certainly knows it. But the reasons why are technical and illustrate just how different Romney is from the vast majority of Americans who will cast votes for him -- in either the GOP primary or the general election.

One tax expert told TPM of "fairly sophisticated tax strategies" that would be "not available to ordinary tax payers." A technique that puts you in a position that's "like having an unlimited 401k account" sounds very attractive. But maybe not if you're running for office, for Pete's sake.

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Payroll Tax Cut

Dems Drop Details Of Payroll Tax Cut While GOP Signals Early Opposition

Brian Beutler | December 5, 2011, 1:04PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Democratic sources confirm that Harry Reid will try to win GOP support for a new payroll tax holiday by shrinking the size of the overall cut, and offering Republicans a few concessions that they've been pushing for both publicly and behind the scenes.

But their proposal will be partially paid for by a small, temporary income surtax on millionaires, and that will be a tough sell with Republicans, according to a top Republican aide, as the GOP overwhelmingly opposes raising taxes on high-income earners.

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Economy

CBS Poll: 51 Percent Say 'Buffett Rule' Will Have No Effect On Hiring

Kyle Leighton | October 4, 2011, 10:35AM

Further evidence that the percentage of those Americans unwilling to tax millionaires is much higher within the House GOP conference than the country as a whole: A new CBS News poll shows that 64 percent of those polled support such an increase, versus only 30 percent against.

"Democrats were extremely likely to support such an increase (83 percent did so), and independents also supported it, 65 percent to 28 percent," said the CBS report. "On the other side, 54 percent of Republicans opposed such an increase, while 40 percent supported it."

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Warren Buffett

Timeline: How The Buffett Story Was Oversold On Twitter

Ryan J. Reilly | September 30, 2011, 12:10PM

Warren Buffett didn't really "disagree" with the so-called "Buffett rule" on Friday, but Republicans were quick to pounce on early reports that he did.

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Warren Buffett

Did Warren Buffett Really Disown The Buffett Rule? Not Really (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | September 30, 2011, 11:40AM

Oops!

Ideally, if you've gotten permission from Warren Buffett to use his name to describe your tax plan, you want him to be affirmatively on board with all of it.

But asked by CNBC whether he supports President Obama's tax plan, Buffett hedged quite a bit.

"Well, the precise program, I don't know what their program will be," Buffett said. "My program would be on the very high incomes that are taxed very low -- not just high incomes.... If they make a lot of money and pay a low tax rate, like me, it would be changed by a minimum tax."

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Grover Norquist

Norquist To Buffett: Send Government Your Money -- Here's The Envelope, You Pay For The Stamp

Brian Beutler | September 28, 2011, 1:03PM

Grover Norquist

Republicans and conservative operatives have become obsessed with the idea that wealthy liberals should prove their largesse not by making public arguments for higher taxes on people like themselves but by donating money to the U.S. Treasury.

This is the fiscal equivalent of the old critique that environmentalists should just buy hybrid cars and never fly anywhere instead of fighting for laws meant to combat climate change. It's silly, but it's combustible, and it exploded on Twitter and elsewhere after an Obama supporter in California this week asked the President to raise his taxes.

Anti-tax warrior Grover Norquist has turned this talking point into world class snark.

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Polls

Poll: 73 Percent Support 'The Buffett Rule', Including 66 Percent Of Republicans

Kyle Leighton | September 27, 2011, 3:41PM

Ever since President Barack Obama proposed raising taxes on millionaires as part of a debt reduction package, Republicans have been refining their defense for resisting the change. These are the job creators, they argue, and economic growth will be hampered if they have to pay more income to the government. But it looks like they may have to find something more effective.

In the first public polling available on the so-called "Buffett Rule" specifically -- the proposal to raise taxes on millionaires advocated by billionaire investor Warren Buffett -- Daily Kos/SEIU's weekly "State of the Nation" survey asked the following: Do you support or oppose ensuring that people who make over a million dollars a year pay the same percentage of taxes or more on their total income as those who make less than a million dollars a year?

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Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett Gave His Tax Return To Charlie Rose Last Month

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 22, 2011, 3:14PM

Attention Buffett Birthers on Capitol Hill: Warren Buffett has already made his 2010 tax return public.

Appearing on Charlie Rose last month, the billionaire investor brought his tax return along to prove his point about the Buffett Rule, which has become the centerpiece of President Obama's new plan to raise taxes on the super-rich.

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Warren Buffett

On Capitol Hill, Rise Of The Warren Buffett Birthers (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 22, 2011, 1:38PM

Warren Buffett and President Barack Obama

Republicans on Capitol Hill have found a new hidden document conspiracy to push to now that President Obama's long-form birth certificate is a matter of public record. Warren Buffett, they demand, show us the tax return!

The Hill reports big names in Congress are starting to say Buffett "needs to reveal his finances if his views on tax rates are going to serve as the basis for Obama administration policy."

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Russ Feingold

Feingold Group To Press Super Committee On Buffett Rule

Brian Beutler | September 22, 2011, 6:22AM

Former WI Senator Russ Feingold

Former Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold offered enthusiastic praise for President Obama's deficit plan, and particularly for the so-called "Buffett rule" -- a principle holding that people who make more than a million dollars a year should pay at least the same effective tax rate as middle class workers.

"I just want to say how pleased I am that the President is taking a strong stand with this Buffett rule," Feingold said in a Wednesday interview. "What excites me even more, is it's the only fiscally responsible approach."

Feingold's new advocacy group Progressives United will press the joint Super Committee to adopt the Buffett rule as part of a broader deficit reduction plan. In an email to supporters, Feingold will make it explicit. "[T]he influence of big corporations and the super rich is strong in Congress, and several senators -- including Democratic ones -- are already opposing this crucial effort," the solicitation reads. "Tell the super committee how important it is to make millionaires pay their fair share."

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Taxes

Schumer: We Want A Vote On The "Buffett Rule" To Tax Millionaires

Brian Beutler | September 19, 2011, 1:53PM

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)

Congressional Democrats will draw a sharp distinction between themselves and Republicans by pushing for a vote on the "Buffett Rule" -- that millionaires should, at the very least, pay taxes at the same overall rate as middle class workers.

In a sign that Democrats on the Hill see this as both effective politics and a significant step toward erasing medium term deficits, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) -- tasked with helping the party more effectively message its policies -- said members of Congress should have to go on the record on this issue.

"I'd find it very useful to make some proposal along the lines that fits within the confines of the Buffett rule and put it on the floor," Schumer told reporters in a Monday conference call. "When the President goes around the country and keeps talking about it, as I believe he will do, we are going to win this fight."

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Barack Obama

Obama's $1.5 Trillion Tax Increases Would Hit Wealthy Hardest -- Here's How

Brian Beutler | September 19, 2011, 9:41AM

President Obama's new deficit proposal includes $1.5 trillion in new tax revenue -- nearly half of the plan's $3.6 trillion deficit reduction target.

So what's in it?

Most of the $1.5 trillion comes from policies Obama has proposed before. Letting the Bush tax rates for the top two income brackets expire nets about $800 billion. The rest comes from ending myriad tax preferences that benefit wealthy Americans and businesses. This includes a plan he unveiled several days ago that would pay for his new jobs bill -- if the Super Committee can't find extra savings on its own -- that would limit the amount high-income earners can deduct from their tax filings. And, of course, it would end loopholes benefiting wealthy corporations.

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Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett to Congress: Seriously Guys, Raise Our Taxes

Michael R. Corjulo | August 15, 2011, 9:24AM

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaway CEO (and Forbes second wealthiest American in 2010) Warren Buffett penned an assertive op-ed in Monday's New York Times calling for the congressional "super-committee" assigned to draft a debt reduction plan to raise taxes on the "super rich". The piece did not mention any members of congress or political parties by name but was highly critical of the structure of the U.S. tax code.

Buffett called for a plan that would,"leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged", and "raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more -- there were 8,274 in 2009 -- I would suggest an additional increase in rate."

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Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett: 'Trickle Down' Theory Hasn't Worked (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | November 21, 2010, 10:00AM

Warren Buffett

Billionaire Warren Buffett said that the Bush tax cuts should be allowed to expire for the richest Americans and that the "trickle down" economic theory hasn't worked.

"If anything, taxes for the lower and middle class and maybe even the upper middle class should even probably be cut further," Buffett told ABC News in an interview set to air later this week. "But I think that people at the high end -- people like myself -- should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we've ever had it."

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Bush Tax Cuts

Warren Buffett: Raise Taxes On The Rich, Already!

Christina Bellantoni | September 23, 2010, 9:29AM

Warren Buffett and President Barack Obama

Billionaire Warren Buffett thinks that the Bush-era tax cuts for the superrich have had their day. Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the richest people in America,
told Politico's Mike Allen after a small business program commencement ceremony at LaGuardia Community College, in Long Island City, Queens that it takes time for economic "wounds" to heal. He said he still supports President Obama.

"I'd vote for him all over again. ... I think he's got the same vision about America I do. ... I think he has the same social goals, very much, that I do," Politico reported.

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