Bill Gates thinks a higher tax is 'just justice'
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Bill Gates agrees with Obama on Buffett tax and thinks a higher tax is 'just justice'
By Meghan Keneally
Last updated at 7:43 PM on 25th January 2012
Bill Gates joined his friend and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett in showing his support for President Barack Obama’s proposed increase on taxes for America’s über-wealthy.
Mr Gates, who is worth an estimated $59billion, said that he agreed that drastic fiscal measures are taken to help the country recover from its crippling deficit.
‘The United States has a huge budget deficit so taxes are going to have to go up,’ he said in an interview about his devotion to charitable giving.
‘I certainly agree that they should go up more on the rich than everyone else that's just justice.’
Mr Gates’ comments to BBC come the morning after President Obama addressed the country in his annual State Of The Union speech, in which he argued the need for a tightened tax code that forces millionaires and billionaires to pay what he feels is a more appropriate share of their earnings to the state.
The Microsoft founder has dedicated much of his time in the past five years to charitable causes, spearheading African aid projects and encouraging others to spread their wealth.
‘I hope we can solve that deficit problem with a sense of shared sacrifice where everybody would feel like they're doing their part.
‘Right now I don’t feel like people like myself are doing as much as we should,’ Mr Gates concluded.
Mr Buffett, after whom Mr Obama named his proposed tax, is actually the co-sponsor of Mr Gates’ Giving Pledge initiative. The effort targets billionaires and has them agree to give away at least half of their wealth to charitable causes either during their lifetime of after their death.
As of last April, 69 people had publically joined the pledge.
Mr Obama spoke extensively about the need to place higher taxes on millionaires during Tuesday night’s speech.
‘Right now, because of loopholes and shelters in the tax code, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle-class households,’ the President said.
‘Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.’
Mr Buffett’s secretary Debbie Bosanek has been a common point of reference during the debate over raising taxes, and she for the first time since the issue was raised, Ms Bosanek herself was seen as she was a guest of the First Lady.
Mr Obama made an argument- later echoed by Mr Gates- that the only sensible approach to fixing the deficit and paying for necessary social programs was by focusing on the country’s wealthy.
‘Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else - like education and medical research; a strong military and care for our veterans? Because if we're serious about paying down our debt, we can't do both,’ he said.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1kVB8P5W3
By Meghan Keneally
Last updated at 7:43 PM on 25th January 2012
Bill Gates joined his friend and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett in showing his support for President Barack Obama’s proposed increase on taxes for America’s über-wealthy.
Mr Gates, who is worth an estimated $59billion, said that he agreed that drastic fiscal measures are taken to help the country recover from its crippling deficit.
‘The United States has a huge budget deficit so taxes are going to have to go up,’ he said in an interview about his devotion to charitable giving.
‘I certainly agree that they should go up more on the rich than everyone else that's just justice.’
Mr Gates’ comments to BBC come the morning after President Obama addressed the country in his annual State Of The Union speech, in which he argued the need for a tightened tax code that forces millionaires and billionaires to pay what he feels is a more appropriate share of their earnings to the state.
The Microsoft founder has dedicated much of his time in the past five years to charitable causes, spearheading African aid projects and encouraging others to spread their wealth.
‘I hope we can solve that deficit problem with a sense of shared sacrifice where everybody would feel like they're doing their part.
‘Right now I don’t feel like people like myself are doing as much as we should,’ Mr Gates concluded.
Mr Buffett, after whom Mr Obama named his proposed tax, is actually the co-sponsor of Mr Gates’ Giving Pledge initiative. The effort targets billionaires and has them agree to give away at least half of their wealth to charitable causes either during their lifetime of after their death.
As of last April, 69 people had publically joined the pledge.
Mr Obama spoke extensively about the need to place higher taxes on millionaires during Tuesday night’s speech.
‘Right now, because of loopholes and shelters in the tax code, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle-class households,’ the President said.
‘Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.’
Mr Buffett’s secretary Debbie Bosanek has been a common point of reference during the debate over raising taxes, and she for the first time since the issue was raised, Ms Bosanek herself was seen as she was a guest of the First Lady.
Mr Obama made an argument- later echoed by Mr Gates- that the only sensible approach to fixing the deficit and paying for necessary social programs was by focusing on the country’s wealthy.
‘Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else - like education and medical research; a strong military and care for our veterans? Because if we're serious about paying down our debt, we can't do both,’ he said.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1kVB8P5W3
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Comments
If taxing more is the correct approach, and I don't believe it to be, I also don't see how strictly raising rates on rich people actually brings in more money to the government. There has to be reform in the tax code that doesn't allow people a way around paying taxes.
If taxes are based on percentages, and there is no velocity of money changing hands, higher percentages of taxation will not necessarily yield the desired result of more taxes collected. Less gains and higher percentages is not necessarily going to produce what higher gains and lower percentages will, and vice versa.
Most of the money spent by the government is printed or borrowed, both make the debt larger and more painful as there is interest involved, as well as devaluation of the currency. Free market people call this the inflation tax and recognize that it hurts the poor the most. One way to patch this up a little would be to give the people of this country debt-free money. If we're going to have fiat currency, why not have the treasury print it directly with no debt attached instead of doing it through the banks and The Fed?
I would love to see the tax system completely revamped in ways not discussed here. Even if there was some sort of enormous tax on the uber rich, which I wouldn't favor, my compromise would be that it doesn't change for 10 years, in exchange for a moratorium on new federal regulations on all business, all existing ones withstanding. Pick a tax rate, and then freeze all other government action so everyone knows exactly where everything stands for an extended period of time. I believe that in a economy based mostly on confidence, that there is just too much uncertainty and that most of that uncertainty is a result of changes in the codes, which creates too much reluctance to higher, and little incentive to save and create business from capital over credit.