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Two of America's Richest Assail Bush Tax Cut
« on: May 20th, 2003, 5:10pm » |
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Two of America's Richest Assail Bush Tax Cut
2003-05-20 21:24:13 GMT (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - You would think two of the wealthiest Americans would have no problem with a tax cut that would put thousands, if not millions, of dollars in their pockets.
But billionaire investors Warren Buffett and George Soros, Nos. 2 and 24 on Forbes Magazine's list of the 400 richest Americans, both railed on Tuesday against President Bush's plan to deepen income tax cuts and eliminate taxes on corporate dividends.
Bush, who has campaigned around the country touting the plan as a way of creating jobs and boosting stock prices, is pressing for final agreement this week as Congress wrangles to fit the package into a $350 billion limit set by the Senate.
In an opinion article in the Washington Post, Buffett, the chairman of holding company Berkshire Hathaway, said he already pays about the same income tax rate as his receptionist -- about 30 percent.
But Buffett said with the planned dividend tax cut, he conceivably could pay a mere 3 percent in income taxes. Recalling President John F. Kennedy's declaration that Americans should "pay any price, bear any burden" for the country, Buffett said a 3 percent income tax rate "seems a bit light."
"Supporters of making dividends tax free like to paint critics as promoters of class warfare. The fact is, however, their proposal promotes class welfare. For my class," wrote Buffett, whose wealth is estimated at $36 billion.
Soros, renowned for both his swashbuckling speculative bets on currencies as well as his philanthropic work, dismissed the tax cuts. He said they would not revive the U.S. economy in the short-term but were only aimed at helping the rich get richer.
"This move is designed not to have much impact now. It's designed to have an impact over an extended period and it's basically using the recession to redistribute income to the wealthy," Soros said in an interview with financial news network CNBC.
"I think that is really not a very effective way of using a deficit," said Soros, whose wealth is estimated at $6 billion.
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