Stop Coddling the Super-Rich (New York Times)

“Our leaders have asked for ‘shared sacrifice.’ But when they did the asking, they spared me,” writes Warren Buffett in a New York Times Op-Ed piece published last summer. He goes on to give a case-study in taxation based on his own group of employees: In 2010, Buffett’s federal tax bill was $6,938,744 — just 17.4 percent of his taxable income. It was a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in his office, whose tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent. Buffett goes on to give what has become a well-publicized call to action to Congress: First, leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. Second, raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. Third, for those who make $10 million or more, mandate an additional increase in tax rates.