Dynamic Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Almost start to wonder if two parties are coordinating to realize capital gains and losses or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hjorth Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Yes, @Dynamic, Likely these transactions catch the interest of SEC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfp Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 So...... now that it looks like they might be actually getting a bill together that includes a 15% minimum tax on large corporations - there has been some discussion that this would be a 15% minimum tax on "book" income, or GAAP reported net income. As in, when Berkshire reports a GAAP net income that includes $30 or $40 Billion in unrealized stock market gains that weren't previously taxed under the previous regime but have to be reported through the income statement under GAAP, who here thinks Berkshire will be on the hook for the cash tax payments under this new plan? I assume they will need to carve out a bunch of exemptions and maybe insurance companies will be one of those - but it is being put together in a hurry and it seems like there will be a lot of hasty decisions that they will have to 'fix in post' so to speak. On the other hand, I'm sure Berkshire will benefit from some of the extensions of utility tax credits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aws Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 I don't even really know who this 15% corporate AMT is meant to target. When many of the headlines about such and such big corporation paid no income taxes this year it usually seems to be related to R&D expenses or bonus depreciation. R&D expenses are deducted for both GAAP and tax, so this wouldn't really hit any of them unless the AMT will require adding back those amounts. Bonus depreciation is the one I see most often when there is GAAP net income but no taxable income, because for tax purposes millions or billions of fixed asset purchases are written off immediately whereas for book purposes they are depreciated over their useful life. But bonus depreciation has come and gone many times, and if you don't want that book to tax discrepancy then I don't know why you would keep the accelerated depreciation in the first place. As you say, Berkshire is probably hit harder than anyone because of the newish GAAP rules about taking unrealized gains into book income, but they would be an odd target for such a law because they actually pay their taxes. Unlike many large companies they don't do all these strategies to avoid taxes by shifting income to offshore entities in low tax countries. But I guess if a wealth tax for individuals is the goal, then maybe they want for corporations as well. I doubt either will end up happening as written right now, so I'm not too worried about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfp Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Not sure where to put this as it doesn't have anything to do with Berkshire and there aren't many recent Charlie Munger threads, but here is an article that is critical of Charlie's new dorms: https://gizmodo.com/architect-says-billionaires-dystopian-dorm-design-is-a-1847964193 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DooDiligence Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 39 minutes ago, gfp said: Not sure where to put this as it doesn't have anything to do with Berkshire and there aren't many recent Charlie Munger threads, but here is an article that is critical of Charlie's new dorms: https://gizmodo.com/architect-says-billionaires-dystopian-dorm-design-is-a-1847964193 Eeek! Sounds like something the Chicom's would devise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boilermaker75 Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 2 hours ago, DooDiligence said: Eeek! Sounds like something the Chicom's would devise. There are fire codes. So they can't build it unless it meets those codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DooDiligence Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 23 minutes ago, boilermaker75 said: There are fire codes. So they can't build it unless it meets those codes. I love the comments: 4500 men enter. One man leaves. Thunderdorm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aws Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Charlie responds: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-29/charlie-munger-defends-design-for-dorm-bashed-by-architect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hjorth Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 It's certainly an entertaining read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValueMaven Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 This is interesting https://www.reuters.com/business/under-buffetts-wing-us-fuel-retailer-pilot-leaps-into-oil-trading-eyes-refining-2021-11-01/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfp Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 Warren did finally comment on the two new board member appointments in his local (no longer owned) newspaper - https://omaha.com/business/local/warren-buffett-says-adding-daughter-to-board-will-help-preserve-berkshires-culture/article_380cbffa-3d85-11ec-9ae5-7bba9b76c4a8.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsad Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 6 hours ago, gfp said: Warren did finally comment on the two new board member appointments in his local (no longer owned) newspaper - https://omaha.com/business/local/warren-buffett-says-adding-daughter-to-board-will-help-preserve-berkshires-culture/article_380cbffa-3d85-11ec-9ae5-7bba9b76c4a8.html I've always felt that Susan should have been the first Buffett child sitting on the board...ahead of Howard. She's definitely her father's daughter, and has been fully involved with Berkshire, its meetings, engaging its shareholders, etc for quite some time. She has her mother's keen understanding for giving, and her father's instincts on responsibility. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCR Posted November 12, 2021 Share Posted November 12, 2021 On 11/10/2021 at 7:51 PM, Parsad said: I've always felt that Susan should have been the first Buffett child sitting on the board...ahead of Howard. She's definitely her father's daughter, and has been fully involved with Berkshire, its meetings, engaging its shareholders, etc for quite some time. She has her mother's keen understanding for giving, and her father's instincts on responsibility. Cheers! In Fall 2011, I took Bob Miles' course "The Genius of Warren Buffett" at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. One of the highlights (apart from a class lunch with WEB) was having Susan Buffett speak to our class about her father. It was clear she was very knowledgeable about BRK, her father's approach, and the culture of the company. Seeing Susan and her father interact during lunch was also a treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGBRK Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 Looks like Howie made some news. https://foxillinois.com/newsletter-daily/director-fired-after-improper-law-certificate-given-to-donor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValueMaven Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 Apple has been on a total tear recently -- up about 18% since 10/4 - while BRKB is down 1% ... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsad Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 On 11/18/2021 at 9:59 AM, JGBRK said: Looks like Howie made some news. https://foxillinois.com/newsletter-daily/director-fired-after-improper-law-certificate-given-to-donor He fired Sokol after almost a similar matter of semantics...is he going to remove Howard from the board? Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spekulatius Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 11 hours ago, Parsad said: He fired Sokol after almost a similar matter of semantics...is he going to remove Howard from the board? Cheers! I would hope so, but unfortunately that’s unlikely. What was a bit differently is that Sokol’s offense was directly related to his position at Berkshire while Howard’s is unrelated. Howard’s matter is more in line with Monish Pabrai’s Harvard MBA disaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregmal Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 7 hours ago, Spekulatius said: I would hope so, but unfortunately that’s unlikely. What was a bit differently is that Sokol’s offense was directly related to his position at Berkshire while Howard’s is unrelated. Howard’s matter is more in line with Monish Pabrai’s Harvard MBA disaster. LOL The MBA fiasco! I totally forgot about that! Everyone fussing over whether its real or not....meanwhile in my head I'm like "wait, it says more to me in terms of his approach, that this guy thinks having an MBA is even worth bragging about in the first place!" Oh man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hjorth Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 @Spekulatius & @Gregmal, A bit off topic, but anyway: What is this thingy Mr. Pabrai and a Harward MBA? I have tried to do search. I hope somebody will bring me out of my darkness here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregmal Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 @John Hjorth He basically lied/misrepresented/something-along-those-lines his having achieved such a silly qualification... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hjorth Posted November 24, 2021 Share Posted November 24, 2021 Thanks, @Gregmal, Much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hjorth Posted November 24, 2021 Share Posted November 24, 2021 On 11/18/2021 at 6:59 PM, JGBRK said: Looks like Howie made some news. https://foxillinois.com/newsletter-daily/director-fired-after-improper-law-certificate-given-to-donor Thank you for sharing, @JGBRK, @Spekulatius& @Parsad have commented on this case in this topic. Honestly, it's really bugging me, after reading the primary source [, linked to in the article linked to by @JGBRK]. Any other commments by my fellow CoBF members? - Thanks in advance, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted November 24, 2021 Share Posted November 24, 2021 (edited) Howard seems to me like a bit of a weirdo to be frank And actually on 2nd thought I would prefer he never has any link to Berkshire. Edited November 24, 2021 by LC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregmal Posted November 24, 2021 Share Posted November 24, 2021 Am I misremembering or was Howard speculated to be part of some horseback riding border patrol group a few years back? Vaguely remember reading something about a wealthy guy and his buddies roaming around with night vision goggles and guns in Arizona or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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