http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3848139

Click the above story. This is the greatest example of why there needs to be an estate tax of about 65%

wonder if Buffet has a lot of money in a Panama with a privately owned investment company that does nothing more than watches over large sums of money in the bank under his rule. Why not, its quite popular these days to do it. Ive read estimates that 60% of the wealthiest in the US do just that, and that their combined assets hidden this way for tax avoidance is around a 500 billion dollars. If true, thats a hell of a lot.

Inheritance should be treated like LOTTERY winnings as UNEARNED INCOME which it is. They won the lottery by being born to wealthy parents.

Buffett earned his money fair and square by painstakingly finding businesses that were undervalued and nurturing them into greater productivity. It is amazing to me that he even thinks about giving his hard-earned money to government, which will in all likelihood squander it on subsidies to various special interest groups and thereby only encourage dependency on the government trough. How is this a better option? There is a whole subsidized underclass in this country who feels entitled to receive government largesse without contributing anything to society. And our government's idea of a good time is to lay waste to a foreign country 10,000 miles away, killing up to a million of its people, making the world less safe---all the while lining the pockets of the pro-statist helmsmen of the military-industrial-congressional complex. No, Mr. Buffett, keep your money---all of it---and kindly vote for Ron Paul before you shuffle off this mortal coil. Your money-making ability has left a wake of productivity that no government in history has ever matched. Don't shit on your own legacy.

I bet that Mo Fker Forbes would not do such a thing.. even though he never earned it. The loser inherited his wealth!

The critics of Mr. Buffett on this page who say he's a hypocrite for giving to tax exempt charities and thus avoiding paying any taxes have missed his point entirely. He's arguing that such enormous wealth should not be passed on from generation to generation. He's giving his $$$ away and his kids are getting relatively little. That's his point.

This isn't the first time Buffet has been wrong.

The first time was when he considered the property tax of his home in Omaha (about $10,000 a year) and his house in Newport Beach (about $1,000 a year) and came to the conclusion that the Newport Beach taxes were too low.

WRONG!

The correct conclusion is that the Omaha taxes were way too high. They should pay people to live there.

The right conclusion here is to let the person who earned the money decide what to do with it. If he wants to leave it to his family, friends or pets, fine. If he wants it to be tossed into the black hole of government spending, fine. If he wants to give it to other people or charities he can make those arrangements in his will, as well.

But stop already with the begging for other people's money. Go get a job and your perspective just might change.

The question is not if Warren Buffet pays enough in taxes the question is if the tax system is being gamed by the wealthy to avoid taxes. We bought 38 shares of Berkshire Hathaway in 1980, we paid about $1600.00 per share. Today it closed at $135,200.00 per share. We haven't paid a dime of taxes on any of the increase in value. If we were to leave it to our children(which we won't, they each get 1 share) they would receive a stepped up basis on the stock and would not pay a dime on the increase in value. No one has paid any taxes on this money. We will be following Buffet's lead and leaving the other 36 shares to charity. This does not save us a dime in taxes. The stock changes hands after we have died and our other monies are taxed. Use some sense.

This is one honest, decent man. Thank you, Mr. Buffett, for speaking out. It's a very brave and admirable thing to do. Here's at least one man who can sleep at night with a cleaner conscience than plenty of others. THANK YOU and thank you for your philanthropy!!

Hey Warren, If you are so "dead" set on paying extra taxes, then why don't you leave your entire fortune to the IRS in your will.

Nobody is stopping you, just leave my money alone.

The Estate tax should be implemented progressively. I've got a problem with family farms being appraised at astronomically rates during estate probate because land developers and their pocket politicians have a hankerin' for the property. I've read articles about profitable fourth generation family farms being auctioned off because the beneficiaries did not have enough liquid assets to pay the Estate Tax. The Gates, Hiltons, and Mars families should be hammered at a much higher rate than people who reach or maintain more modest wealth.

If the World's CEOs, CFOs, and Politicians possessed one half of the integrity and honor that Buffett displays, this country would be in better shape. Fuck the Aristocracy.

I don't know why inheritances aren't simply included in the inheritor's taxable income in the year the inheritance is received. Treat an inheritance the same way as wages. The inheritor probably did not work for the money, in any event. I don't know why so many middle class Republicans are so opposed to the "death tax". Why are they so concerned about how much the Waltons can leave to their heirs?

Warren Buffet is merely saying that our progeny must pay a fair share of taxes for their inheritance, that is, if there's any left for them. A recent study indicates that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are costing a typical family of four over 20,000.00. (See Washington Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/12/AR2007111202008.html)
Can you imagine what our bill will cost if we bow to this administration's push to go to war with Iran?

Mr. Buffett: Thank you for accepting some responsibility for your position attained within the American Republic. Hopefully, your behavior becomes contagious and the Republic is pointed toward its former glory.