So yesterday, Sen. John Cornyn and other Republicans were very smug about their latest crass
gotcha scheme, demanding Warren Buffett release his tax records (not caring or believing that the Tax Policy Center has
backed up the possibility that Buffett's secretary could indeed pay more in taxes than he does).
So here's the thing. Warren Buffett has already made his tax return public.
Appearing on Charlie Rose last month, the billionaire investor brought his tax return along to prove his point about the Buffett Rule, which has become the centerpiece of President Obama's new plan to raise taxes on the super-rich.
A group of Republicans on Capitol Hill is calling on Buffett to release his tax return to the public, to prove whether or not he actually pays a lower percentage in tax than his secretary. Buffett made no secret of the numbers to Rose, and explained how the income breakdown works.
Here's a partial transcript, with the full transcript available here.
BUFFETT: And—and they—they get—I get taxed on up to $100,000. And—and—and my super rich friends get taxed up to $100,000. And that tax hits the people in my office very, very hard. Often they have a spouse working, so they get taxed on up to $200,000 that payroll tax. And that's at -- this year we've had a waiver of two points but that's normally at 15.3 percent. That alone is higher than the tax rate on capital gains or dividends.
ROSE: You point out that the average tax rate for people in your audience -- in your -- the average rate for people in your office is 36 percent of taxable income.
BUFFETT: Yes, 36 percent. And nobody's below 33 percent. And incidentally, the lowest income person in the office is higher than the 33 percent. They don't have the low rate. So from 33 percent to 41 percent they range and they average 36 percent and I'm in there with a fat 17.4 percent I think it is.
Of course, Republicans will now want to know if it was Buffett's long form return that he showed to Rose.