INVESTOR WARREN BUFFETT says he’s never used the kind of tax deduction that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump did, and Buffett says he’s paid taxes every year for 72 years.
In Sunday night’s town hall debate, Donald Trump confirmed using a $916 million loss in 1995 to avoid paying federal income taxes.
He also claimed that Hillary Clinton’s wealthy supporters had also avoided taxes by exploiting the law.
Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that the Republican nominee for the presidency may not have paid federal income taxes for nearly two decades after he and his companies lost nearly $916 million in a single year.
On Sunday night, Trump mentioned several Clinton donors, including 86-year-old Warren Buffett, by name, and said:
Of course I do. Of course I do, and so do all of her donors, or most of her donors.
“I absolutely used it, and so did Warren Buffett and so did George Soros, and so did many of the people that HIllary is getting money from.”
Last night, Buffett responded to Trump’s comments during Sunday’s debate by releasing his tax returns, increasing pressure on the divisive New York reality tv star to do likewise.
The figures show Buffett gave away the equivalent of 75% of Trump’s wealth to charity.
Buffett reported an adjusted gross income of $11.5 million in 2015.
Slow starter
The billionaire said his return included $5.47 million of deductions, but tax laws kept him from claiming most of his $2.85 billion charitable gifts as deductions.
Buffett also said he paid $1.84 million in federal income taxes last year.
“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,)” Buffett said.
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 Trump – at least he would have no legal problem.
Buffett is third on the Forbes list of 400 wealthy people, just behind Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, with an estimated net worth of $65.3 billion. In September, Forbes pegged Trump’s worth at $3.7 billion.
Buffett, who is Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman and CEO, said he has never used the kind of ‘loss carry-forward’ that Trump employed when he claimed $916 million in losses in 1995.
Buffett is a longtime supporter of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
With reporting from Darragh Peter Murphy.
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