Warren Buffett Tells Donald Trump To Grab This [Motions To Tax Returns]
If you watched the second presidential cage match last night, you know that Donald Trump, in response to questions about maybe not paying federal income taxes since 1995, said the reason the tax code is so lax is because Hillary's "friends" like it that way. According to Trump, Hillary hasn't changed the laws because then George Soros and Warren Buffett wouldn't be able to continue legally avoiding paying certain taxes like he has. To which Warren Buffett replied:
Mr. Trump says he knows more about taxes than any other human. He has not seen my income tax returns. But I am happy to give him the facts. My 2015 return shows adjusted gross income of $11,563,931. My deductions totaled $5,477,694, of which allowable charitable contributions were $3,469,179. All but $36,037 of the remainder was for state income taxes. The total charitable contributions I made during the year were $2,858,057,970, of which more than $2.85 billion were not taken as deductions and never will be. Tax law properly limits charitable deductions. My federal income tax for the year was $1,845,557. Returns for previous years are of a similar nature in respect to contributions, deductions and tax rates. I have paid federal income tax every year since 1944, when I was 13. (Though, being a slow starter, I owed only $7 in tax that year.) I have copies of all 72 of my returns and none uses a carryforward. Finally, I have been audited by the IRS multiple times and am currently being audited. I have no problem in releasing my tax information while under audit. Neither would Mr. Trump – at least he would have no legal problem.
Some Tax Facts for Donald Trump [BusinessWire]