Nov 1 - Bill Gates: I Support Taxing The Rich More Than The Poor

Another super-rich celebrity is voicing support for taxing himself more than other Americans.

Billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates said in an interview with ABC's This Week, highlighted by Think Progress, that he's "generally in favor of the idea that the rich should pay somewhat more" than everyone else.

Gates is the latest super-wealthy advocate of a progressive tax system. Famed investor Warren Buffett wrote in a New York Times op-ed last month that lawmakers should stop "coddling" the super-rich by giving them tax breaks. Def-Jam co-founder Russell Simmons told MSNBC's Martin Bashir last month that "we need to make the rich pay their fair share," a sentiment the multi-millionaire hip-hop mogul also expressed at the Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park.

"There certainly is a case to be made that taxes should be more progressive," Gates said on This Week. Gates wouldn't say outright whether he supported the so-called Buffett rule -- a proposal named for Buffett included in President Barack Obama's deficit reduction plan that would raise taxes on millionaires.

But it's more than just the famous super-rich that support raising taxes on themselves. Sixty-eight percent of millionaires say they support a tax increase for those earning $1 million or more, according to a survey by The Spectrum Group. In addition, a group calling themselves the Patriotic Millionaires has been urging lawmakers for months to boost taxes on people like themselves.

It's not just millionaires that support a tax increase on the super-rich; ordinary Americans would also like to see the government raise taxes on the wealthy. Nearly three-quarters of Americans said in a Daily Kos poll last month that they support the Buffett rule. Sixty-four percent of Americans said in a CBS News poll that they believe that lawmakers should raise taxes on millionaires to reduce the nation's budget deficit.

And prominent economists may be agreeing with Americans that boosting taxes on millionaires would help to close the budget gap. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan -- a registered Republican -- told CNBC in an interview last month that it's time to let the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy expire.

Still, those looking to increase taxes on millionaires and billionaires may face an uphill battle; Republican leaders slammed Obama's deficit reduction plan as "class warfare" after he announced it. In addition, many of the GOP contenders for president favor tax systems that some argue are less progressive than what's currently in place.

Bill Gates: I Support Taxing The Rich More Than The Poor

not all the rich are greedy. few weeks ago there were rich protestors on wall street asking to get taxed more.

Bill Gates puts all his money in his tax free foundation thats why he doesn't give a !! FOH

Exactly that's why I came in here to say that, these billionaires put there money in foundations that don't pay taxes, along with multimillion dollar religious institutions

Hate on Bill Gates all you want but him and his wife do good work with charity

The problem I think is not about taxing someone the more that you make taxes should go on income and be the equivilant for everyone. The problem lies in the fed reserve printing money anytime they feel like it, devaluing the dollar and spending it wherever they feel like without the tax payers knowledge or consent in doing so. Also because of corporations outsourcing jobs with very little rules or regulations by the government itself. Now corporations do not need to get all these f*cking ridiculious tax breaks, I agree with that, !! is stupid as hell. But, as long as there are lobbyist in washingtion for these corps than the poor man is getting screwed 24/7 [pic]

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of course he puts his money in those tax free foundations. Do you know how much charity this guy does? Also when he dies, his kids are getting like 10 percent of his wealth (still a !!load of cash) and the rest is going to charity. So yeah Bill gates is some huge !![pic]

What wrong with Bill Gates Giving his money to tax free organizations? You expect Bill Gates to PAY taxes on money he GIVES away?

I bet a lot of you don't know what a "gift tax" is...

If I give a friend of mine a gift, I pay tax on it, NOT HIM.

Bill Gates' charity puts in more work than most others

[pic]The government is to blame more anyone, democrats and republicans both

If i could lose 99.99999% of my money and still be rich id be saying that aswell. Gates is giving nearly all his money to Charity when he dies so that will definitely do a lot of good


How did this lunatic take over from Bill as CEO of microsoft?

he not stupid he know people getting hungry and about to go looking for a meal pretty soon

The last time I checked, Treasury wouldn't turn away any sizable donations from ANY of these bleeding heart billionaires.

The tax code DOES need an overhaul, but as long as the Uncle Sam and the Fed continue to spend and act this recklessly, we're not going anywhere and life will continue to get harder for the poor.

thats my nicca bill gates [pic]
i'd really cry if he died.
if i could meet one person, it would be him. no doubt.
we got too much in common.
except for our financial differences.

yet he has this.

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Bill Gates is sponsoring a contest to see if you can somehow create a waterless toilet and hes gonna give the !! away to people in Africa so they can live with less !! around them literally

thats dope. [pic]

:applause: Bill gates a good guy. He talkin about the rest of those rich !!s that think the "creating jobs" is a good excuse not to pay taxes. I aint gonna say all rich people greedy, but !!......Most of those mofos are or they would be rich!

Basically, and that's a long time away from happening. Too intermingled in political bull!!. So any of these rich fukks saying "tax me more" are bright enough to know that it's not that simple. However, I'll never hate on gates. Homie at good off that Gate's Scholarship :dancingcool: