Billionaire Buffett opens books in call for super-rich tax

AMERICAN billionaire Warren Buffett has revealed details of his earnings as he advocates a new tax on the super-rich to end the US debt crisis.

The 81-year-old said he earned almost $63 million (£40m) last year, yet he paid a rate of just 17.4 per cent on taxable earnings of $39.8m. The Berkshire Hathaway chairman and chief executive is spearheading a drive to get Congress to impose a higher rate of tax America’s wealthiest.

Mr Buffett – said to be worth $39bn – challenged Washington to tax him more. “My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice,” he said

The billionaire investor noted that he paid the lowest percentage of tax of anyone in his office.

President Barack Obama is pushing for a “Buffett rule” under which the super-rich would be expected to pay at least as much tax as the lowest earners did.

A congressional committee has been asked to find a way to reduce a national debt of more than $14 trillion.