The controversy over corporate tax inversions has led many experts to call for an overhaul of the corporate tax regime, and you can add legendary investor Warren Buffett to the list.
"It’s good to have a time out while we work out a logical corporate tax code,"
Buffett told Politico.
The federal corporate tax rate runs to a maximum of 35 percent, the highest rate in the developed world. To escape that tax many U.S. companies are executing tax inversions, in which they buy foreign companies and then domicile overseas to avoid U.S. taxes.
The Buffett quote came in response to a question about new Treasury Department rules to restrict tax inversions.
His Berkshire Hathaway is providing $3 billion of financing for Burger King's takeover of Tim Hortons of Canada. Burger King is planning the deal as a tax inversion, with a move slated to Canada.
An effort to reform corporate taxes without boosting the deficit could spell trouble, Buffett said. "Now if it’s revenue neutral, I guarantee you that there will be a lot of corporations that will therefore pay more, and they’ll be there on K Street like Occupy Wall Street."
Larry Kudlow is another financial luminary who sees a need for corporate tax reform.
One of the first things the new Congress should do in January is to hand President Obama a bill "slashing the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent and with that no more double tax on foreign profits,"
the CNBC senior contributor told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
© 2026 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.