Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has expressed his willingness to pay a high corporate tax bill in 2024, but emphasized that he hopes the government uses the money to help burdened Americans.
Berkshire Hathaway’s $26.8 billion tax payment last year marked the largest-ever corporate tax bill paid to the US government, surpassing even tech giants with trillion-dollar market values. The company’s tax payment accounted for 5% of total corporate taxes collected in 2023.
Since Buffett took over as CEO in 1965, Berkshire Hathaway has paid $101 billion in taxes. Despite this, Buffett stressed the importance of responsible use of the funds, saying, “Spend it wisely. Take care of the many who get the short straws in life.”
Buffett also acknowledged the company’s significant tax bill was largely due to the sale of appreciated Apple stock, valued at $90 billion. However, he expressed his support for reducing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15%, as suggested by former President Donald Trump.
The billionaire CEO reiterated that Berkshire Hathaway’s success is unlikely to be replicated in any other country and thanked the US government for the record-breaking tax bill. He hopes that future payments will be even larger, expressing his confidence in the company’s ability to generate significant returns on investment.
Source: https://fortune.com/2025/02/25/berkshire-hathaway-taxes-warren-buffett