It has long been suspected that the uber-rich use tax loopholes to reduce how much they pay Uncle Sam. A ProPublica report on Tuesday estimated how little Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, and other billionaires pay to the Internal Revenue Service based on tax returns obtained by the nonprofit news site. ProPublica analyzed data from 2014-2018 on total income reported and total tax paid to estimate what it called a “true tax rate.” The Sage of Omaha for instance paid nearly $24 million in taxes in that period, representing a measly tax rate of 0.1%, the news site said. Buffett told ProPublica in a statement he had paid the taxes he was owed. To put that in perspective, someone who earns on average $75,000 a year pays a federal income tax rate of around 20%, according to Americans for Tax Fairness. True, the Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) boss has been vocal about how little the rich pay relative to the general population and has urged the government to change that. And Biden wants to increase the capital gains tax rate that targets the rich to pay for his $4 trillion plan to help the economy read more . He should take Buffett’s advice to heart. (By Jennifer Saba) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Capital Calls - More concise insights on global finance: About You fits its $5 bln IPO valuation read more Big Tobacco is ramping up its transition read more SoftBank’s Flipkart 2.0 is a big endorsement read more Medline’s money machine read more Amazon founder goes into space read more