The $73.7 billion of taxable gains on the sale of investments in the first six months of 2024 represent the largest voluntary income tax liability ( in that he was not required to trigger those gains ) in either the life of Warren Buffett or the life of Berkshire Hathaway. The federal and state income taxes on $73.7 billion of taxable corporate capital gains is about $15.8 billion. And Buffett elected to pay them.

So Buffett was willing to pay $15.8 billion in income taxes for the privilege of selling $97 billion of equities. I know we are dealing with very large numbers here, and managing them can cause very large results; but if you were to make a list of Buffett-like and Buffett-unlike activities – voluntarily entering into a transaction that would require cutting a $15.8 billion check to the taxing authorities would safely fit into the Buffett-unlike column.

When someone has spoken before about tax paying efficiencies suddenly executes in a very tax inefficient manner, I think it means something.

Is this just specific to Apple, or is Buffett expressing an opinion about overall stock market valuations here?

Berkshire Hathaway FAQ

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