Sparked by the recent debt crisis in the U.S., Warren Buffet has called on lawmakers to stop "coddling the super-rich". Buffet is referring to the tax breaks that the millionaires and billionaires receive. In a recent article by Buffet in the New York Times, he stated:
"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. 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."
This is an extremely large amount of money from one person. Although Buffet is American and referring to U.S. taxes, the same types of numbers hold true in Canada. When you consider there are over 60 Canadians are worth more than $1 billion, the untapped potential of taxing the super-rich the same amount as everyone else (strange concept?) is extraordinary. Coupled with a growing philanthropy movement being led by Buffet and fellow multi-billionaire Bill Gates, a large influx of philanthropic dollars could be on the way soon. Social services and other often overlooked and under-financed areas such as the arts could be a likely recipient of this newly available funding. Arts and Culture managers, start planning your upgrades. The rich people are starting to feel bad and want you to have their money.
Warren Buffet NY Times Article
Warren Buffet and Bill Gates Philanthropy Challenge
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