Buffett Defends Not Paying Higher Rates He’s Calling for: ‘I Follow the Law’

EXCERPT:

WOODRUFF: “Berkshire Hathaway does take advantage of the legal ability to defer taxes, and —“
BUFFETT: “Sure. Well, that’s because —“
WOODRUFF: “And I saw a number, something like $75 billion in deferred taxes?”
BUFFETT: “Well, that’s we haven’t cashed things that we — just like you, if you have got a stock that’s gone up a whole lot, until you sell it. But that’s just the law. And we’re going to — we don’t have any of the Cayman Islands or anything like that stuff. But we follow the law, and we got a million shareholders. And I think they probably expect us to do that. That doesn’t mean I don’t think the law shouldn’t be changed in some way. But I follow the law in terms of my personal return. I do not send an extra $5 million to the Treasury.”