Legendary investor Warren Buffett says he favors hiking taxes on America's super wealthy, but stops short of fully endorsing a White House version of what super wealthy is.
Buffett grabbed headlines recently when he said he pays proportionally lower taxes than does his secretary, since capital gains taxes are subject to lower taxes than incomes.
Most of the rich, he says, earn their money that way and should therefore pay more.
The Obama administration says it agrees and wants to tax America's wealthy more, but critics say the administration's plan could hit households bringing in $250,000 a year.
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Warren Buffett
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"My program would be on the very high incomes that are taxed very low. Not just high incomes," Buffett tells CNBC.
But when asked whether he agrees with tax hikes on households making over $250,000 a year, Buffett stops short.
"That's another program that I won't be discussing. My program is to have a tax on ultra-rich people who are paying very low tax rates. Not just all the rich people. It would probably apply to 50,000 people in a population of 300 million."
America's wealthy opposes tax hikes targeted at them but do support fair taxes.
About 44 percent of millionaires in a poll think a flat rate tax across all income brackets is the fairest system, according to a survey from Spectrem Group, a research firm specializing in affluent Americans, according to CNNMoney.
"The Buffett Rule works great if you're 80+ years old and already successful," says Jon Hoch, the owner of a power equipment company, CNNMoney adds.
"At 40 years old, the vast majority of my profits are reinvested back into my business. As an S-Corp, I pay huge quarterly taxes even though I reinvest my the majority of our profits to increase our inventory. "
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