http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-03-18...0-million-taxes

You have Crony Capitalists like Buffett and Bill Gates pushing for raising taxes on everyone while they personally go out of their way to make up new ways not to pay any themselves....

Zitat

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Berkshire Hathaway may have avoided about $400 million in taxes by exiting its long-time stake in Graham Holdings - formerly known as The Washington Post Company - through an asset swap with the company that will add Miami-based TV station WPLG and hundreds of millions in cash to Berkshire’s coffers. Wednesday’s transaction also may also break new ground in how large investors structure deals to avoid taxes on their investment gains.



Berkshire’s deal with Graham Holdings is structured in a way that may allow the Warren Buffett-run conglomerate to exit a multi-decade investment in Graham Holdings without paying any capital gains tax, Robert Willens, an independent tax expert, said in a Friday telephone interview.



The cost-basis for Berkshire’s 1,727,765 million shares was $11 million, Warren Buffett said in Berkshire’s 2000 annual letter to shareholders. Now, Berkshire is seeking to exit Graham Holdings at a value in excess of $1.1 billion.



Applying a 38 percent tax rate (federal plus state and local taxes) would bring Berkshire to about $400 million in tax liability, Willens said. The swap orchestrated between Berkshire and Graham Holdings, however, is likely to reduce Berkshire’s tax liability to $0.



The mechanics of Berkshire’s maneuvering are arcane, especially since both Berkshire and Graham Holdings hold large investment gains on each other company’s shares. Berkshire holds 1,727,765 Graham Holdings shares, while Graham Holdings owns 2,214 shares in Berkshire’s Class A stock.



To unwind each other’s investment, Berkshire and Graham Holdings devised what amounts to a stock swap, although not a direct swap that would have locked in capital gains on both companies’ respective investments.



Normally, both corporations and investors must recognize taxable gains on appreciated assets, even if they transfer shares for assets such as cash or business lines.

But Berkshire isn’t directly taking the TV station from Graham, and Graham isn’t taking Berkshire’s stock. NewSub is doing all of the stock, TV station and cash swapping. As such, the swap may meet Sec. 355 of the federal tax code that exempts capital gains.



“This particular cash-rich split-off breaks new ground since, to our knowledge, it is the only one in which the investment assets of the distributed subsidiary consist, at least in part, of the stock of the very shareholder to whom the subsidiary’s stock is being distributed,” Willens wrote on Thursday.

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Quote: algernonpj wrote in post #2

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Charitable organizations are known to be a great way to avoid taxes, provide for your heirs, and lobby for regulations in your favor.

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