Most people who want tax increases seem to think the rate hikes should apply only to people wealthier than themselves. And many who want across-the-board tax cuts believe that lightening the tax load on the richest folks will create a trickle-down effect that helps everyone.

In an ABC News interview that deflates both questionable arguments, investor extraordinaire Warren Buffett somewhat shockingly said he and other Scrooge McDuck types should be paying more taxes than they are.

Here are a couple of his money quotes from the piece, which is embedded at the end of this post:

“I think that people at the high end, people like myself, should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we’ve ever had it.”

“The rich are always going to say that, you know, ‘Just give us more money, and we’ll go out and spend more, and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you.’ But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on.”

With the White House and Congress set to tangle over tax rates, the government will have to weigh opposing taxation philosophies. Where do you stand on the issue of taxing the rich progressively?

Warren Buffett: I ‘Should Be Paying A Lot More In Taxes’ [ABC News via Huffington Post]

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