Money / Warren Buffett Buffett: I Made $63M Last Year, Should Pay More He paid about $7M in federal income tax By John Johnson, Newser Staff Posted Oct 12, 2011 8:03 PM CDT Copied Warren Buffett is pressing his case for the ultra-rich to pay more in taxes. (Getty Images) Warren Buffett got back in the public fray over taxes today with a letter to GOP congressman Tim Huelskamp of Kansas. Highlights: Buffett wrote that his adjusted gross income last year was $62.8 million and his taxable income was $39.8 million. He paid $6.9 million in federal income tax, making his rate about 17.4%. (The big difference in his gross and taxable income is due to deductions on donations to charity and local taxes, reports CNNMoney.) He also paid $15,300 in payroll taxes. Buffett says he got off easy because much of his income came from investments as opposed to wages: "People who make money with money are getting taxed at a far lower rate than people who make money by their own labor." He declined Huelskamp's request to release his full tax return but said he would do so if other "ultra-rich" people did the same. Huelskamp called Buffett's letter inadequate. "By sheltering millions of dollars of income from taxation through charitable giving, Mr. Buffett demonstrates that he doesn't trust Washington with his own money either." For comparison: The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says people who make between $34,000 and $60,000 have a 12% tax rate, including payroll and income taxes, notes the Wall Street Journal. The rate is 20.4% for those making $211,000 to $533,000. (More Warren Buffett stories.) Report an error