WINDFALL

Warren Buffett: Tax Law ‘Delivered’ $29 Billion Windfall to Berkshire Hathaway

The boost “did not come from anything we accomplished at Berkshire,” the billionaire tells shareholders.

Billionaire Warren Buffett on Saturday said his company, Berkshire Hathaway, got a $29 billion boost from the tax overhaul recently signed into law by President Trump. In a letter to shareholders, Buffet said the windfall was “delivered” to the Omaha-based conglomerate “when Congress rewrote the tax code” in December. The legislation was pushed for and praised by President Trump, but critics warned it would only work in favor of the wealthy while doing little for lower income groups. Berkshire’s $29 billion bonus stems from unrealized gains on equity investments getting taxed at a rate of 21 percent instead of the previous 35 percent rate. The gain helped push Berkshire’s net earnings in 2017 up to $44.94 billion, nearly double the $24.07 billion recorded a year earlier. Buffet said while the gain is “real,” it “did not come from anything we accomplished at Berkshire.”