Buffett Hints That Berkshire Hathaway Tax Return Could Be Historic

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett praised his employees and hinted that his company’s tax return might be big enough to warrant inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records.

In his annual letter (PDF) to shareholders, Buffett singled out the 23 employees at Berkshire Hathaway’s corporate office, who he said deal with “a multitude of SEC [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] and other regulatory requirements and files a 17,839-page Federal income tax return — hello, Guinness! — as well as state and foreign returns.”
(To be fair, Buffett could be saying that dealing with such a massive return could drive a CPA to drink.)

While that is a hefty document, the return pales in comparison to the 57,000-page return filed by General Electric in 2011. That return — which, printed out and stacked, would have been 19 feet high — came under fire when it was revealed that the company didn’t pay taxes on $14 billion in profits.
Buffett, for his part, has also generated controversy for his New York Times editorial calling for taxpayers making over $1 million and $10 million per year should be taxed at higher rates. Proposed higher taxes for millionaires have become known as the "Buffett Rule," and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) proposed a law earlier this month that would institute a minimum 30 percent federal tax rate for taxpayers with income over $2 million, including capital gains and dividends.
Without compromising client confidentiality, have you dealt with or heard about any other mind-boggling tax returns?

Buffett: Tax Code Is 'Coddling the Super-Rich'

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said in a New York Times editorial Monday that those making over $1 million and $10 million per year should be taxed at higher rates.
The editorial, “Stop Coddling the Super-Rich,” argued that the income of investment managers and stock futures index traders is taxed at only 15 percent. Buffett, who has an estimated net worth of $50 billion and is No. 3 on the Forbes list of the world’s richest people, estimates that he is taxed at a rate of 17.4 percent.

“Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744,” Buffett wrote in the editorial. “That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.”

Buffett wrote that many wealthy Americans pay a relatively low percentage of their income in payroll taxes, compared to the middle class, and that higher tax rates on capital gains, dividends and income would not hurt investment or job creation. He contended that most investors do not avoid investment based on tax rates.
Buffett said that he would leave tax rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current payroll tax cut of 2 percent. He argued for higher tax rates for those making over $1 million and over $10 million, including higher rates on their dividends and capital gains.
“My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress,” Buffett wrote. “It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.”
 
What do you think? Tax rates have taken center stage since this summer's debt ceiling debate. Does Buffett have a point, or do the wealthy pay enough in taxes as it is?