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Bill Gates' Taxes Require Special Computer

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the oh-to-have-his-troubles dept.

NightWulf writes "News AU claims Bill Gates said in an interview, his fortune is so big, that the IRS needs a special computer, because a normal one can't handle the numbers. The IRS must have had to switch from PC's to Macs just for Gates."

5 of 428 comments (clear)

  1. I don't buy it by Alex+P+Keaton+in+da · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This has to be BS. There are very lareg corporations with financials much more complex than Gates' taxes.
    This sounds ridiculous. Do Warren Buffet's taxes need the special computer also?

    --
    And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
  2. Pure fluff by MustardMan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'd love to see some more detail on exactly WHY they would need a different computer. It's not exactly like 47 billion is a hard number to handle. If it's even true (questionable) I'd say it's probably because their SOFTWARE has some sort of limitation, using low precision numbers or the like, so they had to set up one machine where the software was modified to have higher precision

  3. Funny story, but... by Manuscript+Replica · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Perhaps this is more of a statement about our tax code than about Gates's fortune.

  4. A joke? by goodben · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Anyone else consider that Bill was attempting a joke, but the interviewer couldn't tell? I mean only nerds get nerd humor, right?

  5. That taxes requires a computer at all is a shame by FellowConspirator · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My finances are not very complex, but apparently enough that I'm relegated to the long-form return. I've got to search various forms for fields labelled with numbers to copy out numbers and add them together, copy those to other numbered fields into another form, add them together, altogether having to read an instruction for each field that often reads: "refer to IRS document X to see if this applies to you", or "complete worksheet X and if you get a number between -100 and 325, ignore this line". PLEASE, GOD, WHY?!?!

    In my wife's home country, all taxes are collected at whatever transaction takes place. At the end of the year, you get a receipt to review. If everything seems in order, you are all set.

    Personally, I'd like to see the entire body of personal tax law reduced to 2 pages. If you can't fit it in 2 standard-size pages in 10-pt type, you can't tax it. Further, taxes should be collected at transaction time (payment, sell investment), and the rate ought to be flat and without deductions. Do that, and Gates taxes would look like this:

    Salaries: 1,000,000
    * 0.15 = 150,000 tax
    Realized gains on investments: 2,000,000
    * 0.15 = 300,000 tax
    Interest earned: 900,000,000
    * 0.15 = 135,000,000

    Total tax: 135,450,000
    -- paid in full, thank you for your support of the USA.