" Buffett favors estate tax, but like virtually all billionaires, he won't be paying it

The special edition of this newsletter two weeks ago on Warren Buffett's decision to speed up his annual donations from his $140 billion of Berkshire Hathaway shares to four family foundations generated an unusually large number of emails from readers.

Some praised his generosity, some questioned whether money going to foundations would really help people in need, especially elderly, impoverished, Americans, and some accused Buffett of using philanthropy to avoid paying estate and capital gains taxes.

Buffett has often said it doesn't bother him to pay taxes, and he takes pride in the billions Berkshire Hathaway has sent to Washington.

He believes he is "under-taxed in relation to what society has delivered to me," and has often complained his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does when payroll taxes are taken into account, and because capital gains are taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income.

That led President Barack Obama to propose a "Buffett rule" that would have imposed a 30% minimum tax on Americans earnings more than $1 million a year. It was rejected by the Senate in 2012.

Even though he's proud to pay taxes, Buffett joked in 1998, "I don't send along any voluntary payments to the I.R.S, I want you to understand."

In a 2017 interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box" as Congress was considering a GOP-sponsored bill that would have eliminated the 40% estate tax over several years, Buffett and Becky Quick explored his views, touching on the tension between advocating for an estate tax while personally avoiding it:

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