[Myrddin]

Buffett doesn't care. He's lived a comfortable life. He's giving away money that he can't possibly live long enough to spend. A small amount will be put in a trust for his children. A trust that won't be subject to the estate tax. The estate tax is for little people who don't have enough money to hire a good lawyer to protect their assets in a trust. By the time they realize they need a trust, the government has their meat hooks locked on the assets of the recently departed.

The income tax exists to make sure that people who earn a living are restrained from ever attaining the kind of wealth that people like Buffett, Kennedy and Kerry enjoy. The estate tax assures that the government can steal the rest upon the death of the income earner.

[donmeaker]

Since he likes the Estate tax, just make all money given to charities or trusts subject to the tax.

Easy. Then he would have to pay the tax out of the money that he didn't give.