Warren Buffett: Trump-style tax cut would benefit shareholders

Billionaire businessman Warren Buffett on Saturday said that President Trump’s proposal to slash the corporate tax would be “to the benefit of shareholders” at his massive holding company Berkshire Hathaway.

“The deferred taxes that are applicable to unrealized gains on securities would all be applicable to us,” Buffett told shareholders at their annual meeting, according to reports. “We have $90 or $95 billion in gains, and our owners, dollar for dollar, will participate in that.

“If the rate were to drop 10 percent, that $9.5 billion is real,” he said.

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The Trump administration released a plan last week calling for deep cuts to the nation’s individual and corporate tax rates. Under the proposal, the business tax rate would drop from its current 35 percent to 15 percent.

The lower tax rate, however, would not benefit all of Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings, Buffett. said He predicted that part of the gains from the lower rate would simply be “competed away.”

“It’s certain that some of a lower corporate rate would be competed away, and it’s sure that some of it would incur to the benefit of shareholders,” he said. “It’s very company specific in how that plays out.”

Buffett, whose estimated net worth at about $64.3 billion puts him among the richest people in the world, has frequently argued that the wealthy should pay more in taxes and that U.S. tax policies favor the ultra-wealthy. 

During the 2016 presidential election, Buffett backed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and sparred with Trump.