Click for Mulder Click for Comfort Click for Nordhavn Click for Burger Click for Abeking

Warren Buffett doesn't own a superyacht...?!

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by airship, Oct 30, 2007.

You need to be registered and signed in to view this content.
  1. airship

    airship Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2006
    Messages:
    297
    Location:
    French Riviera...
    Well, apparently the world's 3rd richest man doesn't own a yacht. And it's all the more surprising when you consider he bought a $500m stake in a Chinese bank a year ago which he just sold for $3,500m.

    I watched the NBC Evening News yesterday. Warren Buffett thinks he's not paying enough taxes. And that the tax system unduly favours the rich.

    15 out of 18 employees at Buffett's "nerve centre" in Omaha responded to a survey where it appeared that the average tax rate of these employees was 32.9% compared to Buffett's own 17.7% - and that was with Buffett's admission that he does not use tax planning, tax shelters or even employs a tax consultant...?!

    He thinks that the preferential tax treatment on capital gains, the way hedge fund managers reduce their own tax obligations etc. is quite unnecessary. He harks back to the time when capital gains tax was at 40%: and he doesn't remember himself or anyone else deciding to stop work early "to go watch a movie" because "they'd paid too much taxes today already...?!"

    His challenge to any current CEOs of Forbes 400 companies: If any one of them can prove that they paid a higher tax rate than their secretary did on a percentage basis of their total income, he'll donate $1m to a charity...?!

    If he is truly serious, then I'd much rather see Warren Buffett contributing say, several $ billion (he can afford it) towards an International effort in identifying instances where governments and tax legislation might have been swayed because of various lobbies or other interested parties, whether or not these involved funding, commissions, bribes or other enticements (legal or otherwise). I'd volunteer to run the French division.

    Of course, that would make me a target of sorts. So I'd need to upgrade my Renault Twingo transportation for a chauffeur-driven and armour-plated Mercedes-Benz. And I'd warrant that Warren would also have to stop driving his own ordinary Detroit-built automobile...?!

    Would any superyacht owners, or even the smaller yacht owners perusing this forum like to comment, just in case they do actually pay more in taxes than their secretaries do (in percentage terms)...?!

    For what it's worth, because I drink and smoke, I reckon my total tax rate to be in the region of 60-70% of income, what with TVA (sales tax), income taxes and social security deductions... :eek:
  2. catmando

    catmando Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2005
    Messages:
    471
    Location:
    Arlington Tx
    Too bad I missed that program but he has said on other occasions that "his class" should be taxed more. He believes the progressive income tax is the best way to have a fair system of taxation.

    I take issue with his gift to Bill Gates for AIDS in Africa. There are many problems right here in America which that money could have gone to...or at least some of it. With the massive corruption in African nations I'm afraid a lot of those billions will go to people other than where it was intended.

    As to owning a boat, some people just don't care for it. Donald Trump owned a yacht for less than a year and sold it. He said it was "too expensive" lol.
  3. curiouspeter

    curiouspeter Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2007
    Messages:
    60
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    I truly admire Warren Buffett, but I cannot agree with his views on progressive taxation. Ideally, taxation should come from consumption, not production, and definitely not capital gains.

    Tax rates are high mostly because governments can always find some ways to spend money. Lower tax will improve efficiency and productivity.

    Back to yachts...

    A man like him can choose to spend his money however he likes. (He does NOT have a private A380 either.)

    BTW, do you think he has more disposable assets (as opposed to "money" stuck in company stocks) than Roman Abramovich?
  4. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,952
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
    If you check it out closer I think you would find that Mr Buffett is also a big believer in consumption taxes.


    I don't think he ownes a private plane at all....just a portion of a whole fleet of leased planes
  5. curiouspeter

    curiouspeter Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2007
    Messages:
    60
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    True. This is also why I admire him. :)

    In short, he and his secretary ought to have the same income tax rate - 0%.

    I heard that NetJets is one of the few profitable fractional operator. And it is not created to help a parent sell more planes.

    BTW, does Bill Gates have a superyacht? I think he does own a Global Express.
  6. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,952
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
    How do you intend to run this country then?? I believe he said his tax rate was on the order of 17% while his employees paid close to 33%. He thought this was unfair.

    Surprisingly he fills out his own 'personal' return rather than an accountant. He says the tax code is just too complicated with too many 'individual and special interest loopholes'


    Bill Gates does not either, but a number of other 'Microsoft guys' do participate.
  7. curiouspeter

    curiouspeter Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2007
    Messages:
    60
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Perhaps a consumption tax of around 10% for everyone?

    Also, much of the government can be privatized. If we delegate more services to the market, the system will be a lot more efficient.

    If we plot a graph of effective tax rate (0 to 100%) against total length of yacht owned for the individual (0 to 1000 feet)...

    I wonder what that graph will look like. :)
  8. airship

    airship Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2006
    Messages:
    297
    Location:
    French Riviera...
    On the face of it, that sounds extremely unfair. Anyone on minimum wages, having to spend 100% of their income just to get by, would automatically be paying a higher notional tax rate compared to those who have anything left over after paying the bills...?

    But how about if everyone paid 10% of what they earn (salaries, capital gains, profits). Both companies and individuals. If there are any tax breaks to be had, they should apply both to companies and individuals - so for example, individuals should be able to carry forward losses in bad years too. Social security costs included obviously - if individuals have to pay for their continued health and security, I don't see why this shouldn't apply to companies also. It seems to me that the USA is currently expending several hundreds of billions of dollars annually in Iraq, in order to defend US national interests. If we were to truly count the cost to the individual taxpayer, well, that might be measured by the number of dead or injured GIs. I don't recollect any US corporations dying a sudden or painful death as a result of this campaign...?!

    I was under the impression that it was pretty much that way already. Take the Channel Tunnel. In another age, that might have been considered a project like the canals the Romans built to distribute fresh water around the Empire. The Roman Empire used slaves. What do France and the UK do in the 20th Century? They encourage the small numbers of their citizens who are still able to put aside small savings (in the midst of huge sales of state-owned assets), to invest, to profit from the blessings of wider share-ownership. They have all basically lost. Who benefits today...?!

    Personally, I think I may just as well have my salary paid directly into the bank account of the French inland revenue. They could then wire me what was left after all deductions. That would surely have some effect on government efficiency in the sense that they would no longer have to devote additional resources or management towards reclaiming unpaid taxes (one would hope). Presumably, the day might arrive that mysteriously, my bills towards rent, electricity, gas, car loan, gasoline costs, food etc. almost identically match what the government in their largesse is good enough to leave me plus what I'd like to call a small amount "pocket money".

    Someone remind me when slavery was abolished...?! :rolleyes:
  9. Loren Schweizer

    Loren Schweizer YF Associate Writer

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2004
    Messages:
    1,352
    Location:
    Coral Gables/Ft. Laud., FL
    Time to lighten up.

    WB is a regular guy who eats hamburgers and can be found in numerous photo ops eating a Dairy Queen sundae. So he eschews yachts.

    Yacht content:

    A genuine French chef working aboard one of the late Bernie Little's yachts (one of the "Big Eagle"s) once complained to some yacht broker as he brandished his copper saute pans(the chef, not the boat salesman), " Meester Leetle! All he want to eat is zee hamboorgair! Alors!"